May I Whump You?
by Tobina
Summary: **Prompt 11: Torture/Panic Attack** Here I'll collect some Whump!Fics during May, centering around Shinichi, sometimes with Ran, Kaito or Heiji. Rating will generally be T, except for one story, but I will point that one out when I upload it. Buckle up, my dears - this collection will be a bumpy ride for our boys.
1. Going Down

**Going down**  
Drowning / Being dragged by the ankle  
Shinichi  
ooOO-OOoo

The case had been an easy one.

Shinichi had invited Ran out on a date to a water park where they showed dolphin and orca performances. Best seats of course, and they had gotten fairly wet when one big male orca had splashed the audience, hitting the water with his fluke.

But of course, there had been a case. There was always a case as Ran liked to complain.

This time, a jealous man had stalked his ex and her new date, and when they got too close for his liking, he tried to kill the other man by trying to slip some peanut syrup in his coffee, which he was allergic to. Thankfully, the amount had been small, and the man had been carted off swiftly to the next hospital with 'just' heavy breathing problems.

It all went to hell when the culprit ran for it and Shinichi went after him. It was already getting dark and the park was about to close for the day, so there weren't that many people crowding the paths anymore.

Soon, they reached an area that was off limits for visitors, but the culprit simply jumped over the barricade and sprinted on, Shinichi hot on his heels. They had seen this part of the park during a guided tour, so he knew they were heading to the tanks behind the show stage.

Shinichi was just a bit faster and gained on the man quickly, tackling him to the ground with no other means to stop him. Too bad the other one made up for his lack in speed with strength, and easily shook Shinichi off, who was getting to his feet as fast as he could only to receive a hit to the head that had him seeing stars, and he stumbled back against one of the fake stone walls that separated the tanks from the path.

For a moment, he didn't understand what was happening when he didn't feel the ground beneath his feet anymore and everything around him began to tilt, until he realized that he was being lifted and shoved over the wall.

White hot panic shot up his neck as he remembered which tank was on the other side of the barrier, just as he hit the cold water with a splash, and it closed in over his head.

Orca. The big male one.

Frantically, Shinichi opened his eyes, treading water and trashing around to look for the animal, but was met with mostly dark water. Still dizzy from the hit, he needed a moment to discern which way was up, and then began to swim to the surface.

He was a decent enough swimmer but sharing the water with a big carnivore whale evoked a fear in him he hadn't known so far. If he was lucky, the orca would just observe him without getting near but nonetheless, he wanted to get the heck out of the water. Now!

The surface wasn't that far, and he broke through it, inhaling deeply, reorienting himself to search for the fastest way out.

"Shinichi!"

He turned around and saw Ran climbing onto the barrier with a worried expression, some park staff next to her shouting orders to him to keep as calm as possible and to swim over to them without hectic movements.

Swimming calmly when you knew that there was something somewhere in the water beneath you turned out to be almost impossible, and Shinichi felt the urge to scramble to the edge of the tank building up inside him, pushing against his will to not freak out.

Just before he could reach the outstretched hand of a staff member, the second one called out, "Move! He's-"

The rest of the sentence was lost to Shinichi as a sharp pain shot through his ankle and he felt a _pull_, dragging him back under relentlessly. He thought he heard Ran screaming even through the water that was again filling his ears, muffling all sounds around him.

Trying to get free of the orca's teeth resulted only in more pain and was a futile action. Even though the animal didn't bite to crush his bones, it's teeth had sunken deep into his skin and every movement hurt like hell.

Deeper and deeper, the whale sank to the bottom of the tank and took Shinichi with it, who already struggled to hold his breath, his lungs screaming for air, because in the moment of surprise, he didn't get the chance to inhale deeply enough to stay under water for any length of time.

Shinichi didn't know what to do, if there even _was_ anything he could do to make the orca let go of him. Between panic and lack of air, he noticed that the animal hadn't made any attempt to hurt him further, but he knew that orcas were curious and liked to play with their food, so he wasn't sure this wasn't just a means to kill some interesting prey – drowning him by keeping him in the depths of the tank.

It didn't matter anyway, because by now his lungs were burning, and he just couldn't hold his breath any longer. Finally giving in to the compressing feeling, air bubbles burst out of his mouth and rose to the surface. He reflexively inhaled against the knowledge that water in his airways was a bad idea and began to gag and choke in a vicious cycle of trying to get the water out and the desperate need to _breathe_.

Soon, dark spots danced across his vision and he was almost thankful that he couldn't see the enormous whale directly in front of him any longer, that just seemed to wait and watch him dying.

That was what was happening right now, wasn't it?

He was drowning.

Dying.

He felt how the orca pulled at him again, dragging him through the water and in the process, flinging him from left to right repeatedly, so that his ankle felt as if it would break any moment, if that hadn't happened already anyway.

Suddenly, there was light, air and sound around him. The whale had brought him up again, and though Shinichi couldn't discern the voices or anything at all, he became aware that now, there was someone in the water with him, trying to free him.

He hoarsely screamed in pain when they tugged at him and the whale held onto its prey, setting his ankle on fire.

Then he was back underwater, and everything was just a blur of air bubbles, and the sheer force of the waves the orca caused by tossing him around.

And then he was free, and all movements stilled for a moment – he drifted in the water, not knowing up from down or left from right. He felt hands grip his arms and this time, the pulling sensation didn't frighten him, because though it was urgent, it was still gentle and finally brought him back on solid ground, heaving him over the edge of the tank and out of the water.

His greedy intake of oxygen made him cough and retch. Barely keeping to his hands and knees, he violently got rid of the water blocking his lungs, before he collapsed into an exhausted heap.

The last things he was aware of before he lost consciousness, were how he was being laid out on his side and two warm hands on his face, gently stroking the cold droplets from his cheeks.

ooOO-OOoo

Ran needed just a few seconds to run after Shinichi, knowing that she couldn't, _shouldn't_, let him go off alone.

They were a short distance in front of her, but she was catching up, dashing past a few confused staff members of the park and shouting at them to help, because she knew Shinichi – some way or another he would need it.

Not for the first time, she wished that her foreboding feeling would be false, and was it wrong to maybe wish that the culprit would just get away? Let the police catch him, but please – don't let Shinichi get into a direct confrontation with him.

Left and right, tanks filled with water flew by as she sprinted down the path at top speed, never letting the two men out of her sight, and therefore, she had to watch helplessly how the culprit landed a hard blow at Shinichi's head and then hauled him over the barrier of one of the tanks.

"No!"

She downright barreled into the culprit and brought him down, knocking him out with one single enraged punch, and was up again to climb over the barrier, just to see that Shinichi had already vanished under the surface.

Ran wasn't aware that she was shouting, until two staff members stopped her from jumping in after Shinichi in the last moment.

"Stop! You can't go in there – that's the orca tank!"

Her body froze up and her yelling stopped in a gasp, eyes wide in panic searching for Shinichi in the dark water.

_'Come up, come up, come up'_

Something broke through the surface and Ran was calling out in relieve as she saw him, and again, she began to climb up, but this time to be ready to help him out of the water.

"Stay calm and swim over to us – try not to be hectic or splash around too much," instructed the man next to her, and she saw how Shinichi struggled to keep his cool.

He had just a meter or so left, and the other staff member already reached out for him, when a dark shadow appeared directly under him.

"Move! He's coming up!"

But before Shinichi could even register what was happening, he was already being pulled underwater with a startled yelp.

"Shinichi!"

Ran didn't hear the frantic orders shouted by the staff members to get diving gear ready or their call for an ambulance. She stared at the spot where Shinichi had been just seconds before – not really able to process what just had happened, before blind terror overtook her, and her body began to shake.

_'No, no, no NO!'_

Ten, twenty, thirty – the seconds stretched out endlessly. How long was Shinichi able to hold his breath? Ran didn't know. But she _did_ know that she wanted him out of there. Like – now!

At the bottom of the tank, she could make out the dark shape of the orca, blending in with the darkness down there. Next to her some of the trainers had arrived and one of them put on diving gear while two others began to hit the water with their hands to get the whale's attention.

A female trainer tried to reassure her that this orca wasn't known for aggressive behavior, that it was only intrigued by the sudden visitor in its territory, what didn't make Ran feel any better at all.

Even if the orca didn't mean any harm, Shinichi wasn't trained to deal with this, and he had to be scared out of his mind – so fragile compared to the massive whale.

It took a few agonizing moments, before the shadow in the depth moved, and Ran's eyes stung with hot tears, her throat closing up as she saw how the animal flung its head from side to side while coming up, and now she could see Shinichi's blurred figure helplessly stuck with his leg between the whale's teeth.

They broke the surface and water splashed everywhere, drenching her as well, as the orca continued to drag Shinichi back and forth.

Now, the diver was in the water as well, trying to get him free, what caused Shinichi to scream out, and Ran clasped her hands over her mouth, smothering her terrified sobs.

Then, they all were back underwater, and she couldn't see what was going on, until the diver came up again with Shinichi in his grip, rushing to the edge of the tank and hoisting him up for his colleague to help him out of the water, climbing out himself as well.

Ran didn't have eyes for the orca that now was circling the tank just beneath the surface but ran over to were Shinichi was choking and expelling the water from his lungs, and then all strength seemed to leave his body as his arms and legs gave way and he collapsed.

She fell to her knees next to him, while the trainers checked his vital signs and brought him into the recovery position.

His ankle looked terrible, and she averted her eyes from the torn skin that was already bruising around the bite, to look at his face. She wasn't sure if he was conscious because his eyes were closed, but his brows were drawn together in a pained expression.

Following her need to touch him, to reassure him that she was there, she reached out and gently palmed his face, stroking his wet cheeks with her thumbs.

Slowly, the panic left her bones and she took a shaky breath.

He would be okay.


	2. In best hands

**In best hands**  
Fever  
Shinichi/Ran  
ooOO-OOoo

When Shinichi groggily rolled out of bed this morning to get ready for school, he blamed it on the case that had kept him up late last night.

After dressing in his school uniform and stuffing the books needed for today's classes into his bag, he went down into the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast.

"Morning, Shin-chan," sang his mother from where she stood at the kitchen-counter, sipping her coffee. "A cup for you too? You look like you could use some."

That the smell of coffee was anything but inviting should have been a dead giveaway that this day would suck majorly, but Shinichi just wrinkled his nose.

"No, thanks - I'll just get a toast and be on my way. Ran was a bit miffed when I was late yesterday - better not repeat that."

Yukiko giggled and wished him a good day at school, knowing better than to lecture her son for staying up on a school night. It happened every now and then, but usually he kept it to a minimum and only did it when an urgent case came up.

On the short way to the meeting point, Shinichi already felt out of breath just from walking fast. Maybe he should amp up his stamina training if even one late night had him this drained.

Ran was already waiting and waved at him cheerily. "Good morning, ready for our math test?"

Shinichi groaned inwardly. Damn, he had actually forgotten about that test, but he was on top of the class and he supposed he could just wing it. "Of course," he played it down, not wanting to admit his forgetfulness. "Totally prepared here."

Ran squinted at him, too used to his nonchalance to buy it completely. "Sure…," she drawled, but then blinked. "Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"Case," he said as if that would explain everything, what it actually did with how often he got tangled up in one. "I'm fine."

Not wanting to stay on the topic of his health, because Ran chided him often enough for neglecting himself as it was, he encouraged her to tell him about her upcoming karate tournament, knowing how excited she was about it, and it did the trick. She began to chatter about some techniques she had polished and opponents she hoped to encounter. Leave it to her to want to fight only against the strongest ones – she never felt accomplished when she had it easy on the mat.

It didn't take long for them to reach the school gates and they went to their lockers to change shoes. When they met Sonoko there, Ran's attention was off him completely and he was thankful, because now they would do all the talking and he could fade into the background. He just hoped that this lead-like fatigue would fade over the course of the morning as well – maybe he could get away with a little nap during the first class that was Japanese, and they were only reflecting on some group works they had done, and his group had already presented their results.

Sounded like a plan.

ooOO-OOoo

When he was startled awake by someone shaking his shoulder, he knew that hadn't been a great idea after all. If anything, he felt more sluggish than before, and the slight frown on Ran's face told him that he looked the part as well.

He forced a smile on his lips to reassure her, and before she could even ask, he got up and went to the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water, hoping that it would wake him up a bit more. His reflection in the stark light of the neon tubes wasn't flattering. Clapping his hands on his cheeks, he tried to get a bit color into them, but that only made it worse.

He would have to cut back the next time Megure asked him to stay that late if the result was him looking like death warmed over. With a sigh, he went back to the classroom to get over with the math test that was next on his schedule.

Ignoring Ran's gaze, he sat down just before the teacher entered the room. The test was handed out, and soon the only noises were the scratching of pens on paper and the occasional heavy exhale when one of the students was stumped by a question.

Shinichi looked at his test and began with the first calculations that were fairly easy, but the next one had him blink at the sheet in confusion and he opted to come back to it later, reading the next task. He hadn't expected the test to be a walk in the park, but he should at least be able to answer more than what he had so far. Somehow, the numbers didn't make any sense to him and he couldn't concentrate, losing focus before he could form an answer to one of the problems.

Frustrated, he huffed and blinked a few times to clear his vision that had become a bit hazy. Strange. His head felt warm as well, but certainly that was because he was getting nervous about his sudden lack of math knowledge.

In the end, he had written something for every problem but wasn't sure at all that he would pass the test.

Maybe the next period, which was PE, would help him to shake off the tiredness. Today, they would play soccer, what always helped him to clear his head and get a grip.

"And?" came Ran's voice from where she was getting up from her seat behind him. "How did it go?"

He got up as well, masking his weariness and the brief dizzy spell at standing up too fast with confidence. "Just peachy, as usual. Come one – can't wait to stretch my legs a bit after this, and scoring a few goals," he grinned without feeling it and went alongside her to the gym. Fake it till you make it, right?

He changed into his gym clothes and went out to the field with the other boys. Today's class was divided, and the girls were playing volleyball on the neighboring court. The teams were put together by the teacher and the game started.

Soccer was a sport Shinichi excelled at and he always went all out when playing, knowing that his team counted on him as a striker but today, he just couldn't find his balance, stumbled over nothing and lost the ball more often than he could explain away with lack of sleep.

He worked up a lot of sweat as well, swiping his forehead frequently to keep the drops from running into his eyes.

"Kudou!"

At his teammate's shout, he swiveled around, and the world needed a moment to stop swaying. Biting his lip, he cursed and willed his body into motion to accept the shot, running over to the opponent's goal.

The heat in his body was increasing with the exertion, his hearing suddenly muffled as his whole head felt stuffy and everything slipped out of focus. A few more steps and he stumbled again, this time not able to catch himself, connecting hard with the ground in an uncontrolled tumble.

Shouts filtered through the cotton filling his ears as he tried to get his legs under him to get up, but only succeeded halfway before all strength left him and he faceplanted into the grass, breathing ragged and head swimming.

He turned his face to the side and saw the teacher jogging over to him through black spots that danced across his vision. Some of his teammates already were by his side with concerned expressions on their faces, mouths moving. They were probably asking him what was wrong, but he couldn't muster the strength to answer them, so he just groaned and closed his eyes because the wavering world made him nauseous.

Cool hands on his forehead and cheek elicited a relieved sigh from him, leaning into the touch. He cracked open one eye to confirm what he already knew and saw Ran kneeling next to him with open worry written all over her face.

Ah, he hated when she looked like that – especially when he was the cause, and he felt remorse on top of whatever was messing him up already for troubling her.

"…burning up… infirmary…" he caught snippets of her conversation with the teacher and in a detached way knew they were talking about him.

He wasn't sure how, but he would make sure to make it up to her later – when he didn't feel like dunking his head into ice water and then sleep for a week. For now, he knew that he was in best hands and let got –feeling her gentle touch until he passed out.


	3. Code 136

**Code 136  
**Hostage  
Heiji and Shinichi  
ooOO-OOoo

"Code136 at Osaka Station. I repeat – Code 136 at Osaka Station."

Heiji groaned. Just what he needed right now. Don't get him wrong – a hostage situation was dreadful, and he would always give it his all to dissolve it without anyone getting hurt, but it figured that the emergency call would come in just ten minutes before he was off the clock today. And he was supposed to pick up Shinichi later too, who was visiting him for the weekend. Not for a case but just to hang out for a change and catch up with each other while the girls where off on their own, visiting a Spa.

Looked like he had to ask his friend to take a cab to his apartment, and tell him where the spare key was hidden so he could let himself in, because this would take a while.

He pulled out his phone and shot Shinichi a short text with the information, apologizing but knowing that the other would understand.

He gave Sanada, the officer who was accompanying him right now a nod, and started the engine, while Sanada reported back.

"Copy that – we are on our way. ETA seven minutes. Got some details for us?"

Heiji listened to the answer, while skillfully maneuvering through the heavy traffic, going as fast as possible with the siren blaring on the roof of the car.

"The emergency call stated one man at the main ticket counter, armed with a knife, holding a male passerby hostage, and demanding an empty train to get him to Nagoya. Apparently, he didn't have the money to pay for the ticket and seems to be deranged. The station security had no luck reasoning with him, it only agitated him further, so they pulled back for now, just securing the area and keeping an eye on him."

"Fuck," Heiji cursed, that didn't sound good. Deranged always meant unpredictable, and unpredictable meant a hell of a high possibility of casualties. As stupid as it sounded - Heiji preferred a planned robbery over an impulsive crime any given day. Those guys mostly had at least an idea of what they wanted, and what demands were impossible for the police to meet.

The spontaneous type was, well – spontaneous, and tended to snap at the drop of a hat, what made them more difficult to deal with.

After asking for backup, they pulled up in front of the train station and jumped out of the car, sprinting through the entrance and into the direction of the ticket counter, where they already could see a crowd of curious bystanders from afar.

Heiji shouldered his way through, not bothering with apologies, and proud of himself that he didn't snap at the people blocking his way just to get a good look at the spectacle without giving any thought as to how maybe they were only complicating things.

Finally, they came to a stop next to the head of the Station Security, still not in direct line of sight with the culprit and his unfortunate victim.

"Osaka Police Department, Hattori and Sanada," Heiji curtly introduced them, flashing his badge. "What is tha situation?"

With a glance at Heiji's rank, he nodded. "Hattori-keiji, good that you made it so fast, my name is Hara." He pointed to where some of his employees where standing. "He refuses to talk with anyone who is not police and we had to draw back when he threatened to kill his hostage."

"I understand he wants a train ta Nagoya? Do we know why?"

Hara shook his head, clearly irritated. "As I said, he wouldn't tell us anything, claiming that we are not authorized to grant his demands anyway. He didn't even give us his name."

"Of course," Heiji rolled his eyes. This guy clearly had watched a few too many action movies. As if the police would let him take off in a train, and even assumed they would – did he think he could get away with it? He would be stopped and arrested before he even reached Nagoya.

Regardless, Heiji had to try and negotiate with him, and hopefully free the hostage. He took a second to collect himself, and mentally went through everything that he had learned over the years and could be helpful, before carefully rounding the corner to face the man.

And froze.

_'Shit!'_

He forced himself to breathe again and keep his composure, but it still took him a few seconds before he could even move again to get closer and draw the attention of the culprit, who was holding his knife against the throat of a very familiar young man, whose sharp blue eyes had already locked onto Heiji.

_'How, Kudou? Just – how?'_

Nevermind that his friend shouldn't even be here already – he obviously had taken an earlier train – his knack for getting into trouble was unrivaled.

Heiji took in the situation with a trained eye, assessing the culprit and the environment as well as Shinichi's unpleasant posture. He was pressed against the man, with his hands somehow restrained behind his back, and the sharp edge of the knife dangerously near to cutting into his skin.

Gritting his teeth, Heiji tried to shove all personal feelings aside to keep his head clear. He couldn't afford to have his judgement clouded because he was too involved. Were any other leading officer here, they would take him off the case immediately but as it was, he was in charge for now, so he could just as well get started.

"My name is Hattori Heiji, officer at tha Osaka Police Department. What is tha problem here?" he tried for a first approach, ignoring how Shinichi rolled his eyes. Okay – maybe he wasn't the smoothest negotiator – so sue him.

"The problem?!" the man screeched, licking his lips nervously. "The problem is that all the people working here are idiots! Are you an idiot too?"

Ah – the jittery, stressed out type. He had to be careful not to set him off accidently. Should he feel that Heiji was playing him or not taking him serious, he could very well turn violent, and Heiji suppressed a wince at thinking about what that could mean for Shinichi.

"I'm here to hear you out and to discuss our options," he decided to ignore the rude question. "What is your name?"

Another quick lick while the man considered if that information was necessary. "Hiragawa, Hiragawa Souta."

"Alright, Hiragawa-san, tell me what you need from me." He didn't add 'to end this peacfully', not wanting to point out that he had a hostage at his mercy.

"Train. I – I need a train to Nagoya. Now!"

"Could you tell me why that is so important to you?" _'And why you couldn't just buy a ticket like any sane person?'_

Hiragawa's eyes were wide and unsteady, and he flinched every now and then as if he suffered from spasms. Heiji was worried that he might hurt Shinichi without even intending to.

"My wife," finally came a halting response. "She is in Nagoya – have to get to her."

That didn't tell Heiji much, so he probed a bit more. "Okay – does she need help? Shall we call tha local Police Station ta assist?"

The snort he got as an answer probably was a no.

"Don't know – can you make her see reason? She just took off with some jackass, leaving me with nothing but debts. He must have promised her some shit, lying to her or she would never have left me!"

Somehow, Heiji got the impression that the wife had done the only sane thing by hightailing it, and that reuniting her with her husband wouldn't be advisable. Clearly, Hiragawa had some mental issues that needed treatment by a professional therapist, and that better sooner than later, but he made a mental note to get in contact with her.

"I understand that ya're upset, Hiragawa-san, but I'm sure we'll find a better solution than this right here. Maybe if ya give me yar wife's phone number, I can call her and arrange a meetin'," he said, reaching for his own phone.

"Stop!" Hiragawa shouted, tightening his grip on Shinichi and the knife likewise, that the weapon now was drawing blood. "Don't move! You think I'm stupid? You want to shoot me, don't you?"

_'Actually, – that sounds like an idea ta me,' _Heiji thought tempted, gritting his teeth at the sight of some red droplets running down Shinichi's throat and seeping into the collar of his light-blue polo-shirt, staining it visibly. Heiji had to concentrate very hard to keep his hands relaxed instead of balling them into fists, revealing how angry he was.

Shinichi meanwhile didn't so much as wince at the cut to his skin, if anything, he almost looked bored that it took Heiji so long to dissolve this mess.

Heiji huffed inwardly at his friend's cockiness, but was glad to see that he was okay so far. Trying to placate Hiragawa, he raised his hands, showing that they were empty and that he wouldn't reach for his gun.

"It's alright, we don't have ta call her. Ya know what? A surprise meetin' might be better after all. I can arrange that, my car is just outside tha station – I'll take ya there, ya talk ta her, no strings attached. How does that sound?"

No matter how nonchalance Shinichi was about his situation, Heiji feared that Hiragawa was close to losing it and they needed to work this out as soon as possible. And if that meant that he was giving a weirdo a ride to Nagoya, fine. He would care about the backlash later, when no longer a knife was cutting into his best friend's throat, god dammit.

Thankfully, Hiragawa seemed to actually consider his offer, what showed how far the man was already gone. No criminal in their right mind would believe that they would leave the car of an officer someplace other than at a prison. Hiragawa would go to prison as well – just in Nagoya, where his wife could give testimony to what had caused her to leave him, and Heiji was sure it wouldn't be pretty.

Just as Hiragawa's grip loosened somewhat, there was motion in the crowd, and officers in protective gear took position around them with their guns raised, and a voice boomed over their heads, amplified by a speaker.

"Hiragawa-san, surrender now and you will get a fair trial for endangering the life of an innocent civilian. Resist and we will have to open fire."

"What tha hell?" Heiji burst out, swiveling around to come face to face with Sasaki, a new Inspector on the force, who apparently thought this to be a great opportunity to gain some credits with his superiors. Heiji had fucking hated the man from day one, and his opinion was only confirmed once again. That _dumbass!_

Shinichi's pained outcry had him spin back, terrified what he might see.

The knife was no longer at Shinichi's throat but was sticking out of his right thigh. His leg had given out and he was kneeling, trying to hunch over the wound protectively, but Hiragawa held him up, wrenching the knife out of the wound and up to its previous position, what made Shinichi scream out again.

Heiji growled in rage. _'I'll make so sure Sasaki gets booted from tha force, so fast he doesn't know what's hit him.'_

"Don't fuck with me, or he dies! Is that so hard to get?" Hiragawa yelled, now beyond any reasoning. It didn't matter any longer if they would give him the damn train or not – he had been pushed over an edge with no return. The armed officers would shoot him now as soon as they saw an opening, but that was exactly the problem – Shinichi was in the way, the risk of hitting him was too high.

Not seeing why not any longer, Heiji drew his weapon as well. Beads of sweat ran down his temples as he searched for an opportunity to get the shot in.

What he hadn't taken into account was his friend's stubbornness to not give in, no matter what.

"You know," Shinichi hissed between clenched teeth, pain obvious in his rough voice, "if you want to incapacitate your victim,… you have to make sure… you stab deep enough to server the muscle."

With that, he pushed back hard against Hiragawa, forcing him to flail with both his arms to regain his balance, and let himself fall sideways to the ground to clear the line of fire.

Heiji lost no time and was the first to react, if only because the moment Shinichi spoke up, he knew he was going to pull something stupid.

The bullet buried into Harasawa's shoulder, who fell back with a yell, and was swiftly taken into custody.

Heiji rushed over to Shinichi's side and helped him into a more or less sitting position, quickly assessing the damage the knife had done to his leg.

It was bleeding severely but not as bad as it would had Harasawa hit the artery. He saw paramedics running their way and let them take care of the wound while he glanced at Shinichi's back, were his hands had been tied with what looked like – shoelaces?

He raised a brow questioningly, and Shinichi must have seen it. "He made… a bystander tie my hands with their… shoelaces, watching that he didn't slack off and got them tight – what he did," he answered, breathing through the pain and he grimaced when a paramedic put on a pressure bandage.

Heiji made a face at the sight of the angry red skin where Shinichi had rubbed it raw, trying to get free, while he cut the strings with a pocket knife.

With his hands free, Shinichi tenderly rubber over his arms to get the circulation up again, ignoring the prickling pain, and then he held his wrists out for the paramedic to wrap them.

Heiji watched them take care of his friend for a while before he _had_ to ask. "So, care ta tell me how ya got ta be tha hostage of that nutcase?"

"I kind of - volunteered?" Shinichi answered almost sheepishly.

"Ya did _what_?" Heiji exclaimed, because seriously – only him.

Shinichi felt the urge to defend his actions, a bit peeved that Heiji was chiding him. "It was either me… or a woman with two kids – don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same."

That shut Heiji up.

His friend was right after all – they both would throw themselves in harms way without thinking twice. Pretending otherwise would be hypocritical. He sighed while Shinichi was lifted on a stretcher.

"Alright, buddy – let's get ya ta tha hospital ta patch ya up properly. Maybe we can salvage at least a part of our plans for tha weekend. Though I don't think ya're up for tha grand tour anymore."

Shinichi smirked. "Right – too bad."

"Oi!"


	4. I call bullshit

**I call bullshit  
**Hiding an injury  
Kaito/Aoko and Shinichi  
ooOO-OOoo

Kaito was cheerful. Always. Everyone knew that and everyone expected him to wear a smile, a grin, and a joke on his lips.

So, he did just that, even though the stabbing pain in his side forced him to hide a wince whenever he turned to the side, reached too far or moved too fast.

His father had taught him that poker face was important for a magician, and Kaito had worked hard to bring his to perfection. He relayed on it during his heists to keep his identity hidden, as well as when another jewel turned out to be a failure, and he felt like anything but smiling during his school day.

Because if he didn't, she would notice.

Aoko would notice and she would put it together, and he couldn't have that, but foremost, she would worry, and concern wasn't a good look on her.

Glee, happiness, laughter – that was what he wanted to see on her face, because she had been sad enough in her life, he didn't need to add to that.

On top of it, she was what kept him sane when the task of being Kaitou KID was bearing down on him, wearing him out and stretching him thin. Aoko was normalcy, and being with her gave him a bittersweet taste of how his life could be – how it was supposed to be if not for the syndicate that had killed his father because of a dumb legend about an even dumber rock.

Only today, the task of keeping up his charade was bit harder than usual.

Kaito sighed and discreetly rubbed over the bandages hidden under his school uniform. He had slapped them on himself last night, after one of Snake's stooges had caught him with a bullet at the waist. It had cut a deep graze, and now his white suit not only sported a frayed hole, but also very hard to clean blood stains.

The whole heist had been a waste of time anyway, aside from that it had ended in a mess. He still had to make sure that no one other than himself had been hurt, and he planned on doing that as soon as school let out for the day – what would be in exactly twelve minutes.

And thank heavens for that, because he really needed to take another one of that great painkillers, Jii had given him for emergencies, because his side was killing him.

Yes – he knew he needed proper medical attention, but it wasn't like he could just show up at a hospital the day after a KID heist with the exact same wound as KID and not be suspicious.

By now, he had an extended medical kit at home and was prepared to patch himself up as need be. If really necessary, he could go to Jii to get help, but he was out of town for the week and Kaito was on his own. He would manage – he always did.

If only Aoko would stop sending questioning glances in his direction.

Was his act slacking? He mentally went through their conversations and interactions of the day, and no – he was pretty sure he didn't let anything show.

Bantering, skirt-flipping, being chased through the classroom (though a bit slower than usual, and without any fancy acrobatics) – all the same as every day.

Maybe she was just weird – sometimes she was worried about things she had said or done and wouldn't calm down until she had gotten it off her chest.

He suppressed a groan. Please – don't let it be one of those days where she was down about her father being away for work so much. Normally, he could handle it, but today? No – not knowing how dangerous the heist last night had been, that her father had been in the line of fire before KID shoved him out of the way, hence got shot instead.

For now, the police assumed that the gunmen and KID weren't related, because it had been the first time they came in contact with them. Should this become a reoccurring thing, his heists would get a lot more difficult.

Unfortunately, as soon as the bell chimed, Aoko was at his desk, looking at him pointedly. When had she become so fast?

"You are off today," she said, leaning forward with her hands on her hips, channelling all her I-know-you-young-man attitude at him.

Kaito stood to be at eye-level with her, shouldered his school bag in a nonchalant manner, and gave her an innocent smile. "Don't know what you are talking about."

"There! Again!"

Huh?

Now, he was confused. "I'm afraid, I don't follow – what's bugging you so badly?"

"You," she exclaimed and pointed her finger at him accusingly. "You haven't called me 'Ahoko' all day, and you had plenty of opportunities. What's going on?"

Oh! Oh…

Seemed like he had been off his game after all, and he hadn't even noticed. Dang it!

He laughed patronizingly. "Aoko, Aoko, I can't become too predictable now, can I? A magician has to keep his audience on their toes, so I have to mix things up from time to time. Miss your nickname already?"

_'Now, just wriggle an eyebrow, a cocky smirk, aaaand…'_

"What? No! I don't miss that stupid name!" Aoko reeled back. "You are always messing with me – even when you're nice you are plotting something; I can't believe I was worried!" she proclaimed, turned on her heels and stormed out of the room.

Kaito exhaled slowly. He didn't like to rile her up and make her angry, but at least he didn't have to make up an excuse for not going home with her. And after seeing her in class, he could be sure that her father was alright, or she would have been absent today.

Like Hakuba, who apparently had taken a leave of absence and was helping the police as he had attended the heist as well. So, he was okay too.

That left him with one detective he had to check on, and that was Kudou Shinichi. According to the newspaper, he had gotten caught up in the crossfire, but it wasn't stated if he had been seriously injured or not.

Getting to Shinichi's house in Beika wasn't difficult as Kaito had been there a few times already to deliver a heist note or return a jewel. The detective had become a frequent face at his heists, and he loved to mess with him, because it was a challenge to get a rise out of him - different to Hakuba, whose buttons he knew in and out by now.

Dressed in gray and black with a basecap covering his unruly hair, he wasn't recognizable as the moonlight thief at all. He was sure, Shinichi could identify him just fine nonetheless, and he would keep the visit brief, as he felt dead tired and only wanted to faceplant into his bed. He entered the house through one of the windows on the backside, first floor, what in hindsight hadn't been that great of an idea, because it put a lot of strain on his injury. Not even five steps in, Shinichi's voice stopped him.

"And what do you think you're doing there, KID?" He stood with crossed arms leaned against a doorframe, completely at ease with the fact that a thief had just entered his home.

His eyes scrutinized KID thoroughly. "I'm sure you're not announcing another heist so close after last night, and you left the jewel with Nakamori-keibu, so you shouldn't have any business here."

Kaito forced himself into a relaxed pose, and it cost him a lot of concentration not to cringe, keep his breathing even, and his voice in the usual pattern.

"Why, Tantei-kun, so ungrateful! And here I took it upon me to personally make sure that my favorite critic is fine." He shook his head in played disappointment while he gave Shinichi a once over.

Just at the neckline of his shirt, some bandages peeked out, but seeing that he was at home and up, it couldn't be too bad.

He nodded at it. "And rightfully so as I can see. I have to apologize. No one is supposed to get hurt on my heists."

Normally, he would have added an elaborate bow now, just for the flair, but he couldn't without jarring his wound. Honestly, he wasn't so sure if coming here had been such a good idea after all, because he started to feel shaky and cold, his vision unfocussing now and then for a second. He really should go home and sleep it off.

"So, what about you?"

Startled, Kaito realized that Shinichi now was standing directly in front of him. When had he moved?

"Me? A phantom can't be hurt, but thanks for your concern, detective; it is greatly appreciated."

Shinichi's gaze told him ‚bullshit', and Kaito considered to jump out of the window just to get away before his identity could be compromised, but his body had other plans and simply gave out on him.

"Damn!" he heard Shinichi swearing, and then two strong hands caught him before he could end up sprawled ungracefully on the wooden floor panels. A sharp intake of air told him that the Detective had aggravated his own wound. He felt sorry and said - or rather slurred as much, earning just a huff from the other teen.

"This is nothing, just a graze, don't worry. You on the other hand need some more than sloppy bandages that are soaked by the way, but I bet you didn't even notice, right?"

Kaito managed a nod. He had reopened it? That wasn't good. Lack of pain, shivering, dizziness - that were all bad news. And he was in a detective's house with no backup, no plan and no means to hide anymore.

'Well, shit-'

And then, he was out.

ooOO-OOoo

Consciousness came back to him with a start, followed by a yelp, when his body vehemently protested at his sudden try to sit up.

"I would suggest you take it easy for a while."

Kaito brought his panting under control and looked at the person sitting next to his bed. His hospital bed, he noticed horrified.

"No need to freak out," Shinichi told him calmly. "I brought you here, telling them you collapsed outside my gate, and I just happened to look out of my window. Upstanding citizen that I am, I brought you here. I don't know your name, where you come from and what you were doing there. Technically, all true - besides the fact that you have been inside the house and not at the gate, but details, right?"

Poker face forgotten, Kaito just gaped at him. What the-?

"You were in shock, but they got it handled pretty quickly. Now, you are the proud owner of fresh stitches - which you are not supposed to pull - and this weird smelling ointment that should help with the inflammation you got." Shinichi wrinkled his nose and tossed him a small container, which Kaito caught with a bit of fumbling.

"Thanks - I guess…" he got out, still overwhelmed by the whole situation.

"You're welcome," Shinichi answered, and got up. "Just, next time - make sure you get some help yourself before checking up on others."

No try to arrest him?

No questioning?

Only - understanding. The knowledge that KID existed for a reason, and that he was taking risks to reach his goal.

At the door, Shinichi looked back one last time. "Don't exclude yourself from your own rule."

Kaito held his serious gaze for a moment. "Okay."

With a satisfied brief nod, Shinichi turned around and left.

Well, that had been strange, but kind of - nice?

Maybe Kaito would concentrate his pranks more on Hakuba on his next heists. Nobody should say he wasn't grateful. With a grin, he lay back into his pillow, taking a few more moments to rest, before he would leave the hospital on a not so official way and go back home.


	5. Keep marching on

**Keep marching on  
**Hypothermia  
Shinichi  
ooOO-OOoo

"Stop here."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Shut up! If you hadn't dragged him along, we wouldn't have to get rid of him!"

Shinichi couldn't place the two male voices as he slowly came to, but he was sure that what they said didn't bode well for him. Not knowing where he was, a massive headache and bound hands behind his back usually didn't mean anything pleasant.

The movement that had vibrated through his body stopped and car doors were opened. Shortly after, he was hit by a freezing gust of wind and he shivered, but at least the cold woke him up faster. Unfortunately, that meant he now became very aware of the nauseous feeling swirling in his gut, and all he could do was to turn sideways before he vomited into the legroom behind the driver's seat.

"Shit! God, that's disgusting – get him out of there before he hurls over the upholstery, too."

Hands gripped him under his arms and dragged him out of the backseat. A second pair of hands took hold of his feet, and he was carried away from the car.

Still too dizzy and disoriented, there wasn't anything he could do against it.

"And if he doesn't die? If he gets to the police?"

"Don't be stupid! Even if he should survive, we'll be far away before he gets anywhere near a phone to call for help."

The other man gave an approving huff and then the world around Shinichi suddenly was an ice-cold, turning and whirling mess, before he came to a dead stop when he collided with something solid that punched the air out of his lungs, leaving him hacking and gasping to get a breath in.

Distantly, he heard an engine rev up, and after the sound of the leaving car was gone, it was silent aside from his coughing and the whistling of the wind blowing over him, chilling him to the bone.

The wind wasn't the only thing that sapped the warmth out of his body he realized, and remembered why the ground under him felt so mushy, wet, and freezing – remembered bit by bit what had happened.

He had accompanied Megure and Takagi to a case at a remote Inn. A guest had been murdered and the police on site had been stumped and called for help from their colleagues from Tokyo. Shinichi just happened to be there as well and decided to tag along.

Of course, he had to go off on his own to investigate a hint, and of course, he had stumbled over the culprits off guard, what had resulted in a hit over the head, a period of nothing, and now, he was lying face down in the snow that had come down hard for the last week, wearing a pullover that did nothing to keep him warm.

He groaned and turned on his side, so his face would be out of the snow, and tested his bonds, stubbornly pushing through the pounding in his head and the lingering nausea that suggested that he had suffered a concussion. Fantastic.

At least he only had been tied up in a hurry, so he could get out of the bindings around his wrists fairly quickly – and, was that a bathrobe belt? They obviously hadn't planned to bring him along and had to make do with whatever they found.

With his hands free, he pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around him.

There wasn't much to see, as it was already dark and there were just few lanterns at the side of the street – and the street was up the slope the culprits had thrown him down. On his other side were just a line of trees along the road, and the moon reflecting on the white blanket covering open fields, illuminating everything in a dim silvery light.

Sighing deeply, Shinichi slowly got to his feet, grateful that he didn't feel any additional pain to his throbbing head aside from some bruises from his fall, and a very nasty one was surely forming on his back where he had collided with the trunk of one of the trees.

A glance up the slope showed him that he had tumbled down at least five or six meters, and the climb back up wouldn't be easy with the deep snow and the steepness, but getting back on the road was his best bet to get help. And help he needed – he knew how the chances stood for people out in the cold without proper clothing. He better got on with it before he turned into a popsicle.

After some struggling and skidding, he finally made it and was glad to have more or less solid ground under his feet again, though apparently it had been a while since the last snow plough had come through here.

He brushed the snow off his clothes as good as possible, so the melting flakes wouldn't soak the fabric and make him even colder.

Reaching for his phone, he found it gone. The culprits must have taken it from him. Figures.

Looking down the street to both sides, he couldn't make out any signs of towns or villages. Regarding that he was up and walking despite the hammering in his skull, the concussion couldn't be too bad, and he couldn't have been out longer than a few minutes.

Speeding on a street covered with snow and ice wasn't possible. Maybe they drove fifty to sixty kilometer per hour, what wouldn't place him that far from the Inn, maybe ten kilometers at a max. Even though that didn't sound like much, on foot in this weather it was _too_ much.

In good conditions, he would need like two and a half hours to get back, less if he ran, but with the snow, he would be slower, not to mention the cold that had him already shivering. There was a rule for emergencies called the Rule of 3s. It says that in extreme situations you could survive about three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water and three weeks without food.

Of course, that was only a rule of thumb as many factors came into play for how long one could survive. In his case, the problem was that he didn't wear clothing anywhere warm enough that he would make it three hours without shelter, and as far as he could see there was no shelter nearby. So, he had to start walking no matter what, the question was just in which direction?

He knelt down and studied the tire marks. Assuming that the driver was used to drive on the left side like everyone living in Japan, the marks where showing that the car had come from the left. Shinichi remembered that there was only one street leading to the Inn and that they had passed through a village before they had reach it. Probably the village was closer? Then he had to go to the right.

His chances were shitty either way and standing here, freezing on the spot wouldn't help him any, so he hunched up his shoulders, rubbed his arms and started walking.

On and on, he simply put one foot in front of the other. His breath fogged the air as soon as it left his mouth, and the icy wind cut through his thin clothing mercilessly. He pushed his hands under his armpits to keep them as warm as possible. Frostbite started at the extremities, and he really didn't want to lose a finger. He couldn't do much about his feet and face getting cold, so he just stubbornly marched on.

His shadow on the snow below him was almost hypnotizing as it was once behind him, under him and then before him whenever he passed a lantern. A few times, he skidded when he lost his footing on a frozen-over spot, but eventually, he noticed that he even stumbled without any slippery underground to blame for it.

_'Bad – this is really bad.'_

His shivering had become more intense too, and keeping his thoughts straight was difficult. Was he getting slower? He knew the first signs of hypothermia well enough to recognize them, but what about it? He couldn't do anything to warm himself up, so he forced his legs to walk faster. Maybe the exercise would generate some warmth? It didn't work so well, because after a few steps, he stumbled again, this time not able to regain his balance and went down hard, his movements too sluggish to catch himself.

Pain shot through his right shoulder that had taken the brunt of it. With a groan, Shinichi got his feet back under him and slowly stood up, swaying a bit. Snow had begun to fall again, settling on his hair and shoulders, slowly soaking them.

_'How far have I come by now? How much longer until I reach the village?'_

Without a concept of time and distance, he had no idea how long he had been out in the cold already, but he knew that he had to hurry, before his body would shut down. He had already lost any feeling in his hands and he was sure his feet would hurt weren't they numb.

Was anyone looking for him? Had they even noticed that he was gone? He really had to stop it with the solo actions. Satou was going to yell at him again for being stupid. Wait – was she even here? No, she hadn't accompanied them – or did she? Shinichi couldn't remember.

A few more steps, a few more stumbles, then he was face first in the snow again. It felt oddly comforting to just lie there, and the small clouds his breath made were interesting to watch. He wasn't even shivering anymore, and somewhere deep down, his subconsciousness told him that wasn't a good sign; to _move,_ but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He wasn't aware of how much time had passed - honestly, he wasn't aware of anything, really – when some lights began to flicker in the distance.

_'Like twinkling stars. Pretty.'_

They drifted in and out of his focus while they came closer, and he thought he heard shouting. Where they calling out for him? What was his name again? Whatever – he couldn't answer anyway.

When the noises suddenly grew louder and movement erupted around him, he closed his eyes, almost annoyed by the hands touching his cheeks, disturbing his rest.

Some more shouting, just pieces filtering through his dull state of mind.

"… found him … hear m…. ou-kun? ...wake …ot fully responsive …mbulance …"

He felt how his body was lifted and something was draped around him. Maybe he passed out for a moment, because when he opened his eyes the next time, he was looking at a ceiling, movements rumbled beneath him, and a shrill noise grated in his ears.

Sirens?

Also, he was shivering violently, his teeth chattering together and limbs shaking, but the worst was the feeling of pins and needles all over his skin, just a hundred times more extreme than normal. It hurt like hell!

A familiar face with a moustache came into his line of view, a brown hat resting on the person's head.

"Kudou-kun? Can you hear me?"

With some effort, he managed to hold the man's gaze and gave a weak nod. Megure, the man's name was Megure. It was so hard to concentrate.

Megure's eyes closed for a moment in relief, and the Inspector exhaled heavily.

"You gave us quite a scare there, you know that?"

Shinichi squinted at him questioningly with one eye, the other one screwed shut in pain. He still wasn't able to grasp the situation fully, and he was so freaking cold! Megure must have noticed it and he took a blanket from the paramedic next to him.

Oh – so, he was in an ambulance?

"Sorry, I guess you're still too much out of it – here…" Megure spread the blanked over his quivering body, and only now did Shinichi realize that he was already covered by another one. The paramedic adjusted something on the stretcher he was lying on, and his upper body slowly came into a more upright position. The man checked a few things.

_'Breathing, heart rate, blood pressure,'_ his brain slowly provided him with observations he usually would have made without even thinking. Then a mug with some warm tea was held up to his mouth with a straw in it and the order to drink as much as possible.

He was about to complain that he could very well drink by himself, but moving his trembling hands still sent spikes of pain up his arms, and so it probably was better the paramedic held onto the mug.

The drink ran down his throat, and a prickling heat slowly spread inside of him; the feeling unpleasant but bearable. Warming up sucked!

After he had almost finished the whole thing, he let go of the straw and the paramedic lowered the mug.

"If you can, you should rest some more. We will talk later," Megure said.

Everything still hurt, but Shinichi also felt a bone deep exhaustion that wanted to drag him under again. Grateful, he closed his eyes and soon drifted off again.

ooOO-OOoo

He blinked his eyes open. This time the ground wasn't moving, and the ceiling was white with some lamps on it.

Hospital.

His thoughts were still much slower than usual, but he didn't hurt anymore, instead he was huddled under a heated blanket and he felt warm and cozy through and through. To his right, he found an intravenous-drip that had run empty almost completely and led to the crook of his elbow.

_'Warmed IV-Fluids."_

Sighing, he thought back to what had happened and grimaced at his stupidity. He should know better, and he was sure Megure would gladly tell him that as well – only with much more words.

As if on cue, the door to his room opened and the Inspector came in - first carefully checking if he was awake, and when he found Shinichi looking back at him, he stepped up to his bed and sat down on a visitor's chair.

"Good to see you're doing better. How are you feeling? Shall I call for a doctor?"

Shinichi could see that Megure had been worried about him and needed to get the scolding out of his system to calm down again. He decided to quickly get over with it.

"I'm fine, no need to bother them right now."

Megure huffed. "Sure – you're fine…"

Okay – that had been the wrong thing to say. Megure was clearly trying to find the words to express how much he disagreed with that, before he visibly deflated.

"Listen, Kudou-kun, I know you have pulled a number of reckless stunts in the past, but this time it was a close call – like, _really_ close. When we found you-" he swallowed hard. "When we found you, you were almost in the third stage of hypothermia. If we had arrived any later…"

"I'm sorry," Shinichi said, feeling lousy for putting the Inspector and all the others who cared for him through so much trouble.

Megure just nodded, knowing that he hadn't exactly asked to be kidnapped and thrown out in the snow.

"Speaking of finding, how _did_ you find me?"

"Ah, yes – well, we soon found out about the culprits and that they had left the Inn, so we called the surrounding Police Stations to set up barricades. They were stopped eventually, and by then we had noticed your absence as well, though we didn't know that they had taken you with them. We reported it to the officers at side nonetheless, and when they noticed the stench of uh, vomit in the car, they put two and two together and forced the men to confess."

_'Rescued by vomit – wonderful,' _he thought partly amused, partly embarrassed.

"They didn't remember where exactly they had 'dropped you off', and we also didn't know if you had started to get help yourself – what you did. So, we had to search the entire street from the Inn to where they had been held up. Thankfully, we made it in time."

"Yeah - thank you, Inspector."

Megure just shook his head. "No need for that - I'm just glad you're gonna be alright, though you'll have to stay here until tomorrow. They want to monitor your concussion for a while, and with your tendency to bury yourself in the next case as soon as you are left to your own devices, I advised them to keep you for the night."

Oh yes, concussion. Just remembering the hit to his head, his hand went up to feel bandages wrapped around it. Shinchi, gulped down the lump of guilt, recognizing the not-so-subtle scolding. Megure just knew him too well by now, and he was looking out for him in his own way.

"And just so you know - you run off on your own another time, and I will ban you from all my crime scenes. Am I understood?"

In his very unique own way.

"Yes, Inspector - absolutely."


	6. Good staff is hard to find

**Good staff is hard to find  
**Poisoned  
Shinichi and Ran  
ooOO-OOoo

The little bell above the door chimed cheerily as Shinichi entered Café Poirot a bit out of breath. Azusa answered his brief greeting wave with a bright smile, and pointed to a table in the far corner, where Ran was already waiting for him. They were the only customers at the moment.

He hurried over not to let her wait any longer. He wasn't _that_ late, but it never hurt to show that he had at least tried to make it in time, and a little sweating from running all the way from the Police Department for sure didn't hurt his case.

"Hey, Ran - sorry I'm late," he panted while he slid into the bench opposite of her.

One of her eyebrows lifted unimpressed. "Let me guess - a case?"

He laughed sheepishly, knowing that he would at least have to cover the bill today to make it up to her. He let her wait all too often because he got caught up in police work and just couldn't resist the challenge, or simply couldn't let the culprit get away with their crime. If he could help bring a murderer to justice, he felt obligated to do just that.

Of course, Ran understood that reasoning and supported him in every way possible, but sometimes she just wanted to be put first as his girlfriend, and if he, again, failed at that, he did the next best thing and tried to compensate her to his best abilities.

What meant he tried to spend time with her. No pricy gifts, no ridiculous requests - Ran didn't need those. Just time toghether. Time was precious, and they both didn't have much free time to begin with; both busy with university and part time jobs, what in Shinichi's case was his work at the Police Department.

"Did you get them at least?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course," he boasted, causing her to roll her eyes. She knew him inside out, and even though he could be cocky, it wasn't deniable that he was a damn good detective, and so his behavior was somewhat vindicated - she wouldn't mind if he could tone it down at times though.

"Alright, oh-great-detective, - waiting made me hungry. Ready to order?"

His eyes dropped to the table and indeed, Ran hadn't even ordered a drink without him. Feeling bad about it, he looked around for Azusa, but only found Mimiko, a waitress that had started working here at the start of the last semester. Nice, quiet and reliable - Azusa had been happy to give her the job.

She noticed Shinichi's gaze and immediately came over to their table.

"Hey, you two, glad to see you here again. The usual?"

Ran smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, and add a slice of that chocolate cake with blueberries for me, please. Shinichi?"

"Chocolate cake? Are you su- agh!"

A swift kick to his shin plus Ran's false friendly expression that shouted 'do you really want to complete that sentence?' shut him up.

"Su- sure, chocolate cake sounds delicious. Make it two, please," he hurried to agree, what earned him a chuckle from Mimiko, who then went to get their order.

Shinichi decided to direct the conversation to safer terrain, and Ran's upcoming tournament was perfect for that. "So, you're up to blow the competition away?" How she managed to fit practice into her schedule he had no idea, but she still was at the top of the contestants.

"I really don't know," she said, unusual unsure of her abilities. "Remember the wrist injury I got in spring? I still don't get my straight punch right. It's just not as powerful as before. What if I fail because of that? What if-"

"Ran," he interrupted her, remembering how she had knocked out a thief they had run into in a mall with only one of those straight punches just the other week. "I don't think that will be an issue."

He gave Mimiko a grateful nod when she sat their cakes and drinks down in front of them, took his cup and inhaled the wonderful aroma of his black coffee. Ran preferred tea and loved the yasemin they served here. He had to admit, the cake looked delicious, so he sat his still too hot coffee down again to take a bite of that first, while Ran went on about opponents she was eager to encounter.

The taste was rich and not too sweet, with just the right amount of sourness from the berries. The fruity flavor even seemed to carry over to his coffee when he took his first sip.

He smiled when he saw how Ran closed her eyes in contentment, savoring her cake as well. He loved how she found happiness in even the smallest things and how by watching her, he learned to appreciate them too. Like a cup of coffee at the now perfect temperature.

Sipping it and listening to her in the peaceful atmosphere of the café was calming, and like nothing else, being with Ran took his thoughts off the murder case he had just solved.

He coughed a bit, and frowned. His throat felt a bit dry. Hopefully he wouldn't come down with a cold.

"Mimiko, could you bring me a glass of water, please?"

"Of course, Kudou-san," she answered promptly, and shortly after, a tall glass of cool water was placed next to his coffee. He took a few gulps to sooth the scratchy feeling, but it didn't help much. He sighed - just great.

Ran now picked up on his behavior and watched him intently. "Are you okay?"

"Sure, sure," he answered. "Just a rough throat." Actually, he also felt a building headache, and when he set the glass back down, his hand trembled.

She squinted at him in suspicion, well aware that he liked to downplay any discomfort when he was sick. "You're kind of pale and…" She leaned in close. "Your pupils are dilated, like, they are huge. You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah - of course," he got out, now painfully swallowing around a lump in his still awfully dry throat to fight down a sudden bout of nausea. He didn't even notice Ran had reached out to him until he felt her hand on his forehead.

"You're burning up!"

He tried to concentrate on her now worried face, but wasn't sure if he should look at the left or the right Ran, as there were suddenly two of her.

"I- I think I'll go to the washroom, splash some cold water in my face," he said feebly and got up, swaying slightly. Ran saw it and jumped up just in time to catch him when he stumbled forward, leaning into her for support.

"Shinichi!"

Breathing heavily, he felt how his heart began to race in his chest.

_'What is this? How-?'_

His legs folded under him. Thankfully, Ran already had a good grip on him and carefully guided him to the floor. By now, Mimiko and Azusa had noticed, too, that something was amiss and came running, Azusa already with a phone in her hand. After one shared glance with Ran, she dialed the number for an ambulance.

Concentrating on anything was difficult and Shinichi knew that these were no symptoms of a common cold. His health deteriorated way too fast.

Blindly, he felt for Ran's hand, something to anchor him as his vision swam in and out of focus.

Ran's concerned frown.

Azusa's frantic gestures.

Mimiko's… expectantly glinting eyes?

_'Why-?'_

With a jolt of panic, he suddenly understood what was going on, remembered the fruity taste of his coffee. He squeezed Ran's hand, searched for the strength to form words.

"Mi-Mimi-ko… p-poison… atro..."

Culprit, method, and well, his befuddled brain realized too late that atropin probably didn't tell Ran much, but it was all he could get out before darkness took him.

Ran's worry spiked when he went limp, and she looked up at the woman before her in bewilderment. "Mimiko?"

The girl shook her head with knitted eyebrows. "No idea - maybe he's hallucinating?"

Ran's thoughts raced. Had he really meant that Mimiko had poisoned him somehow? Over the years, she had learned that everyone was capable of murder, no matter how friendly and trustworthy they seemed, and for now, she didn't care so much about the why, but more about the how, because if she could figure that out, it could be crucial information to help Shinichi. And if there was anyone who could recognize a poisoning, it would be him.

Her eyes darted through the room and soon landed on their table. Of course - they had eaten the same cake but their drinks had been different and it would have been easy to slip something into his coffee.

"Azusa," she called out. "Take the coffee cup! Don't touch the content! And call for the police! He was poisoned!"

Wide-eyed and schocked because she hadn't heard what Shinichi had said, Azusa nodded, gingerly plucked the cup from the table and took out her phone again with the other hand. Mimiko took the chance and tried to make a run for the door, realizing that her plan hadn't worked like she had hoped. She really should have bolted after she had seen him drink the poisoned coffee, but she couldn't help herself. She had needed to _see._

"Oh no, you don't!"

With a growl, Ran jumped up with the speed of a coil spring and tackled Mimiko just before she could reach for the door handle. She harshly pulled her arms behind her back in a fierce grip, fueled by fear for Shinichi's life. "What did you give to him? What was in his coffee?"

"What does it matter?" Mimiko huffed spitefully. "He will die anywa-aarrhg!"

"What. Was. In. His. Coffee?" Ran demanded again, barely reigning in her temper as she twisted Mimiko's arm in a painful angle.

"Bitch!- AH! Okay, okay," she panted. "Bella- Belladonna. It should have been enough to kill him."

"Not if I can help it," Ran pressed out through gritted teeth, suppressing her terror in favor of helping her boyfriend. She could break down when she was sure that he would be alright, but for now, he needed her to stay strong and clear headed. She wasn't the girlfriend of a detective for nothing, and she had picked up quite a few things over the years of observing him while he solved cases.

Precise instructions.  
Steady voice.  
Confidence.

She had brought order into the mess of thoughts in her head when an ambulance came to a halt in front of the café, and two paramedics rushed in. She lost no time and told them what Mimiko had said and what symptoms Shinichi had displayed. Not even once did her grip on the girl under her slacken, and her fingers definitely would leave bruises, but Ran didn't care. Mimoko had tried to kill Shinichi, and Ran still couldn't be sure that he would make it. The presence of the swift working paramedics who exchanged practiced orders, only could reassure her so much.

She saw how they lifted Shinichi on a stretcher, placed a breathing mask on his face, and rolled him out to the waiting ambulance. She hated that she couldn't go with him, but she had to wait for the police and keep Mimiko in check until they arrived.

_'Still alive, he is still alive. He will make it. He is strong. Believe in him.'_

She repeated it over and over until she calmed down a bit, but everything after that was a blur.

Megure and Takagi were there and led her to a chair to sit down. They had been horrified to learn that Azusa hadn't called on Ran's behalf because the couple had again managed to stumble over a crime, but because Shinichi had been the victim. That hit far too close to home and it was good that there wasn't much to investigate, because Shinichi had practically solved his own case before he had been carted off to the hospital.

Mimiko was taken into custody after she confessed that she had tried to murder Shinichi with Belladonna because he had worked a fraud case two years ago. Her brother had lost his job because he had been involved, and after a few months without getting new work, he had killed himself. Mimiko blamed Shinichi and had gone to great lengths to learn where he tended to spend his free time, and had applied for the vacant spot at the café immediately.

Then she had waited patiently for an opportunity to slip him the poison.

That had been an hour ago and now, finally, Ran was dashing down the hospital hall to Shinichi's room. At his open door, she came to a sudden stop, when she saw him on the bed - unmoving, unconscious and still with a breathing mask covering his nose and mouth. The elderly doctor next to his bed noticed her and waved her in.

"Hello, you must be Mouri-san? The nurse at the front desk sent information that you were on your way," he greeted her with a reassuring smile that lifted the edges of his grey moustache. "My name is Hinata."

"Hello," Ran answered and tried for a polite smile, but was way too concerned for Shinichi as that she could muster up any strength for small-talk. She slowly went over to the bed and watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. "What- How is he?"

"Don't worry too much, we were able to administer the antidote in time and he will be alright in a few days. Probably with some difficulties to focus his eyes but that will pass. He has been lucky that he didn't ingest more of the poison or the after-effects would have been much worse. Your quick reaction saved his life"

Ran closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, letting go of some of the tension. "He still needs help to breathe?"

"Just a safety precaution. He regained consciousness on the way to the hospital and started to trash around, caught in hallucinations. The paramedics had to sedate him, so he wouldn't hurt himself. One or two hours, then we can be sure that he is able to breath just fine." He glanced at his watch. "I'm sorry, I have to go and talk to the police now, but I heard an officer will be placed outside the room - just in case. You're free to stay with him until visiting hours are over."

Ran nodded a bit bemused. Of course, Megure wasn't taking any chances, even though Mimiko was already arrested.

She pulled a chair next to the bed and tried to get comfortable, holding Shinichi's hand. He was still much paler than usual, but at least his skin wasn't hot and flushed anymore.

How many more?

How many people were out there who wanted to harm him? To take him fom her?

A new resolve built inside her while she tenderly ran her fingers through his hair.

She wouldn't let them. Whoever wanted to get to Shinichi would have to take on her first.

And she could punch a hole through a wall at a moment's notice.


	7. Dumb decision

**Dumb decision  
**Buried under rubble  
Heiji and Shinichi  
ooOO-OOoo

Pain.

Pain and pressure.

That were the first sensations filtering through Shinichi's foggy brain as he slowly came out of what felt like a very deep sleep. He couldn't even say what on his body hurt most, because from a pounding headache, over his lungs feeling crushed by some heavy weight, to an agonizing stabbing feeling when he tried to move his left leg, all he could do was to screw his eyes shut and try to will himself back to sleep.

Sleep? Had he really been asleep? Then why would he wake up hurting so bad? It didn't make any sense, so the analytic part of him decided to open his eyes after all to see if that would help him bring his jumbled thoughts in order.

With some difficulties, he peeled his eyes open, faintly registering that his left one was crusted by something half-sticky half-crumbly, and then needed a moment to orientate himself.

He was lying on his stomach on plain concrete, around him dust filled the air, dancing through the few rays of light that gave a dim illumination to his surroundings that were mostly rubble, some burst metal poles, and other busted construction material.

With every wheezing breath, pieces of what had happened came back to him.

A drug dealer ring.

A stereotypical abandoned warehouse at the docks.

A case with Heiji.

A trap and an explosion.

Worry shot through him, making his breath hitch.

'_Hattori!'_

He lifted his head as high as possible, what wasn't much as part of the ceiling they had fallen through was now pressing him down from his shoulder blades to his hips, pinning him in place. At least his arms were free on either side of his head.

Frantically, he searched the wrecked room for any signs of his friend, finding nothing at first, and the panic that rose within him at the thought that Heiji might be somewhere under all this rubble, almost was too much to handle.

Only when he heard a quite groan from his left side did he manage to calm back down somewhat.

Squinting, he could just make out a heap that was moving in a darker corner, next to more broken pieces of the caved-in ceiling. Looked like Heiji had been luckier than him.

"Hat-" A cough rattled through him when he tried to talk with all the dust clogging up his lungs, and damn, it hurt like hell, the coughs mostly ending in aching chokes when his lungs failed to expand. "Hattori," he called with a raspy voice when the coughing fit died down for a moment.

The heap groaned and moved some more, then hissed in pain. "Shit-"

"Hattori?" Shinichi asked, relived to hear that his friend was at least conscious and first of all _not dead_. "How- how are you?" Asking if he was alright seemed kind of pointless.

"Peachy," Heiji coughed, slowly getting to all fours. "Think my right arm is busted though – and maybe some ribs." A sharp hiss. "Yea- definitely bruised some ribs. Ya?" he asked, still not aware enough to have noticed Shinichi's predicament.

"Could be- could be better," Shinichi pressed out. For longer sentences he just didn't have enough air and breathing hurt, every inhale burning in his compressed lungs.

He heard a displeased grumbling and saw how Heiji began to stumble in his direction. He came to a dead stop, eyes wide when he finally saw the concrete slab and Shinichi underneath it. "Shit!" he cursed once more and kneeled next to him.

"Yea-" Shinichi winced weakly, his head resting on the rough ground again because he didn't have the strength to hold it up anymore. He knew this was bad, like in really, really we-should-have-told someone-what-we-were-up-to bad.

Because they hadn't.

Confident in their skills and cocky as teenagers tended to be, they had followed the lead without informing Megure or anyone else, what in hindsight had been a dumb decision.

He swallowed, braced himself and began to test if he had any wriggle room, if he could get free with enough effort.

"Ah!-gah!" Gasping in agony and coughing simultaneously ended in him choking on air again.

Okay – bad idea. The pain that lanced through him darkened his vision, and for a moment he thought he would pass out.

"Stop it! Are ya stupid?" Heiji yelled at him, but awkwardly grabbed his hands to comfort him.

After a while, Shinichi's sight cleared, but a dizzy and light-headed feeling lingered, the lack of air and the pain hindering him to think straight, so he just lay there, concentrating to only take shallow breaths. He was fading, he knew it, and he felt bad that his friend had to witness it, so he gave it his all, willed himself to stay awake a bit longer, hold on for another second, another minute.

Meanwhile, Heiji eyed the concrete slab, and he didn't have to be a genius to know that there was no way he could lift it by himself.

They needed help.

And seeing how badly off his friend was, they needed it rather sooner than later.

A glance at his phone and he knew the thing was beyond repair. Damn fragile smart phones. Shinichi's phone was certainly in pieces as well, and even if not, Heiji had no chance to get it out from under the slab.

He surveyed his surroundings to get an overview about the damage the explosion had caused.

Almost half of the ceiling was busted, and debris were scattered everywhere. Just Shinichi's damn luck to get caught under such a large piece. They had stood in a room at ground level when the bomb went off, so now they were in the cellar. There had to be a stair or at least a ladder to get up from here.

Searching for it, he grimaced when his gaze fell on what seemed to be the remains of concrete steps leading up. So much for the stairs.

Heiji slowly stood up, mindful of his arm and ribs. Something warm ran down his temple and bringing his hand up to carefully examine it, he realized that he had a nasty cut at his hairline. Great. At least he didn't seem to have a concussion.

At the side of the room, just below the hole in the ceiling, some debris looked like they could be climbed to get to ground level. If his arm could take the strain was a different question, but he had to at least give it a shot.

Returning to Shinichi, he tried to determine the extent of his injuries and if there was anything he could do to help right now.

Beside the heavy piece of concrete on his back, his left leg was twisted in an unnatural angle at his knee and the sight made Heiji slightly nauseous. He couldn't say much about injuries to his torso and back because he could barely get a look under the slab, but some internal bruising was to be expected, maybe even bleeding if they were unlucky. Shinichi also sported a matching headwound to his own, and when Heiji clumsily sat back down next to his head, his gaze was glassy and unfocused.

"Hey, Kudou," he tried to get his attention, but only got a weak moan. Not good.

"Come on, buddy – ya still with me? Ya have ta stay awake. "

Directing his eyes to Heiji seemed to be a herculean task for Shinichi, but Heiji was glad he responded at all.

"Ya're doin' great – just hang in there. I'm goin' ta get help."

"..n't go…"

The mumbled plea made him even more concerned than he already was. This was not how Shinichi normally reacted when he got hurt, and Heiji had seen him getting shot more than once. He always pushed on, never showed weakness even to his friends because he didn't want them to worry. That he openly begged him to stay…

Heiji shook himself, getting rid of the fear paralyzing him.

"I know ya can do it! I'll be back before ya know it, promise!"

This time, he didn't get an answer aside from a small huff. He gave Shinichi's hand a reassuring squeeze and went back to the pile of rubble he wanted to use as an escape route.

Bracing himself, he started to climb on the first chunks, carefully balancing his weight until he was sure it wouldn't break or roll away. Gulping, he pressed his lips together, because now, he had to use his injured arm to pull himself up to the next footholds he had spotted. One look back to the slab and Shinichi pinned under it was all he needed to strengthen his resolve. He would not let his friend down - he had promised.

Arm up, pain, fingers gripping tightly, more pain, muscles tensing, pain, pain, pain, _pull, agony, scream_, and finally relief when he could let go and his other arm held him in place.

Heiji panted hard, preparing himself before he could climb the next chunk, and repeated the same movements, only to lose his footing when a bit of rubble gave underneath his feet, and he dangled from his uninjured arm, his bruised ribs screaming at him. He wasn't up high, it was only a ceiling after all, but falling down would definitely hurt and he wasn't sure he could climb up again, so he grit his teeth and struggled to find something solid to stand on, pushing his a body up.

'_Just a little bit more...'_

Finally, he heaved his upperbody over the edge, crawled a few meters to be sure the floor would hold him, and then got up breathless with his injured arm cradled against his aching chest.

Allowing himself only few moments of rest, he took off in a sprint to find a phone.

ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi had no idea how long Heiji had been gone. One time, he'd heard him scream and he'd wanted to call out to him, ask him what was going on, but his vision swam, maybe he blacked out, because the next moment, everything around him was silent. He couldn't even turn his head enough to check if Heiji actually had made it out or if he was laying on the floor somewhere behind him.

All he could do was to trust that his friend would bring help, and to stay conscious as long as possible, but he noticed that he was drifting in and out of awareness more often with every passing minute, and he clung to every second he was awake, stretching it out.

He thought about his parents, who were on vacation right now. His mother would ground him so hard, he wouldn't see any daylight for some time.

And about Ran. He has a date with her tomorrow, she had been looking forward to for the whole week. He felt sorry that he would have to disappoint her, but they could reschedule, and he would make sure to make it up to her.

If he got out of here.

_When _he got out of here, he stubbornly held onto that belief.

Another few missing chunks of time later, he thought he heard noises coming closer. Hope was rising in his chest, and he strained to stay awake. Yells he couldn't answer echoed down the cellar and he knew, Heiji had done it.

He must have passed out again, because the next thing he knew was Heiji kneeling next to him and holding his hand, talking reassuring nonsense nonstop. Then his grip tightened.

"I got ya, Kudou, just a moment longer. They're goin' ta lift tha slab now. Not lying ta ya - this is goin' ta hurt like a bitch. Just hold onto me, ya hear me?"

Shinichi thought he nodded, but maybe he didn't, he wasn't sure. Then someone counted down and the weight on his back was slowly lifted, his rib cage expanding again with an unbearable anguish. With whatever air he had left in his lungs, he screamed, coughed, hacked, cried - all at the same time.

And then there was nothing.

ooOO-OOoo

When he woke, the first thing he did was gulping in a huge breath - what was a mistake, because it sent him directly into the next painful coughing fit, lungs burning and his tightly bandaged torso protestating firmly.

"Woah - easy there! Here, come..." he heard Heiji's voice next to him, and he felt a warm hand gently rubbing circles on his shoulder, mindful of his injured back. When he had calmed down a bit, he squinted up and was met with his best friend's relieved expression, a grin splitting his tired face.

"Here ya go," he said, and Shinichi could tell that he hadn't slept much, dark circles lying under his eyes.

He accepted the cup of water Heiji reached him, and took a few sips to calm his throat. Now that he wasn't hacking up a lung anymore, he was surprised that he didn't feel too bad, mostly sluggish. They must have him on some great medication. Talking about his lungs...

"What-?" he stopped, wincing at how hoarse his voice sounded.

"Don't push it, I'm wonderin' how ya're up already anyway. Tha doctor presumed that ya would wake up tomorrow erliest."

"Not a good patient - never have been," Shinichi grinned weakly, still sounding breathless.

"Well, with yar twisted knee, concussion, cracked ribs and not ta mention collapsed left lung, ya will get time enough ta practice," Heiji smirked, thankful that they could have this conversation at all. A little later and Shinichi wouldn't have made it.

He saw how Shinichi instead of giving a response, pointedly looked at Heiji's arm that was resting in a sling, a cast around it from wrist to elbow.

"Yea, well, this is nothin'," he waved off. "A few weeks give or take, and I will be back ta full mobility. You, buddy, will need a helluva rehab before we can go off on our next case, but please - let's not repeat this, okay? There is just so much worried Ran-chan I can handle," he winked and Shinich could only nod, realizing how hard this experience must have been on his friend.

Leaning back against his pillow, he gave him a grateful smile.

"Agreed, let's don't."

* * *

**A/N:** Because Heiji totally would go against any doctor's orders to be at his pal's side during the rescue.


	8. Dark, hot and bitter

**\- Attention, my dears. This one is rated M for mentioning and threats of rape -**

* * *

**Dark, hot and bitter  
**Exhaustion  
Shinichi and Kaito  
ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi sat down in his usual spot in the café. Backmost corner, the wall behind him, the door in his line of sight, no tables directly next to him.

He reached for his bag, pulled out his laptop and a case file, placed both on the small, round table and looked up just in time to see that Kaito was already heading over to take his order.

Yes - Kuroba Kaito, former thief in white, now retired (but still a magician extraordinaire how he liked to point out) was working part time in a café while he studied engineering at the university. From time to time, he also held small magic shows in a theatre nearby not to go out of practice, and to build some connections in the world of magic.

After they had helped each other to deal with the whole Conan and KID thing, they had stayed in contact, and now were good friends. Kaito was light-hearted, easy to get along with, and always smiling. Not exactly traits Shinichi shared with him, but they kind of clicked with each other, and where Kaito could be overpowering at times, he was balanced by Shinichi's more levelheaded personality.

He also was one of the reasons Shinichi preferred to come here - he could trust the barista not to poison his coffee, and yes, one had actually tried before.

"Hey there, darling," Kaito winked at him, knowing that Shinichi was easily embarrassed when he used ridiculous nicknames or greetings. And sure enough, he was rewarded with a scowl and a beet-red face. He didn't mean anything by it - it was just fun to mess with Shinichi, and Kaito had never been good at suppressing his cheeky side.

"Hey there, yourself," Shinichi grumbled, not really in the mood for Kaito's antics.

"Uuuh, someone's grumpy today. I'm sure a shot of caramel and cream in your usual motor oil would fix you right up."

"Don't you dare, Kuroba. Just-" Shinichi sighed and rubbed at his temples. Maybe he should have just gone straight home to work on the case, but he needed to concentrate and Sonoko had announced a visit for today and _that_ would fry the rest of his already fragile nerves. He also didn't want to stay at the Police Department; too many distractions. And also…

"Just get me my coffee, would you? The usual without any extras, please."

Kaito blinked and frowned a bit. Of course, he knew how Shinichi drank his coffee - black, hot, bitter and if possible by the liter, but normally, he was open for suggestions and trusted Kaito not to overdo it with the sugary components. That he blocked it completely meant that he wasn't just grumpy, but that something was seriously bothering him, and apparently it was about a case. It didn't happen often, but whenever Shinichi was stumped, he got obsessive and couldn't give it a rest until he found the answer.

Kaito made a mental note to keep an eye on the detective, and wordlessly went to get him the biggest mug the café offered.

ooOO-OOoo

When Kaito arrived for his late shift the next night, Shinichi was already sitting in his corner with his head propped up on one hand, staring at his laptop in deep concentration.

"How long has he been here?" he asked the colleague he was about to take over for with a nod in Shinichi's direction.

"About two hours, I guess? Be careful - he is snappy today," the boy answered and was obviously glad that he hadn't to deal with Shinichi's bad mood any longer. Everyone knew that the two of them were friends and that Kaito would take care of him when he was on duty.

Kaito just nodded, giving Shinichi a thoughtful glance. "Alright, thanks."

When he got to his table a few minutes later with a pot of freshly brewed coffee in hand, he raised an eyebrow at the chaos on the table. Shinichi was a remarkably well-organized person, and this was - unusual.

"Need a refill?"

The way Shinichi almost startled at his voice was telling. He had been so absorbed in his work that he hadn't even noticed Kaito's arrival while Shinichi tended to notice _everything_ around him, no matter what he was occupied with. A sometimes unnerving talent whenever Kaito tried to impress him with his magic tricks, but on the other hand he could be certain that if Shinichi didn't get the trick, no one else would either.

Kaito frowned. Shinichi looked worn and tired. No wonder – he had been at the café last night until closing-time after all, and knowing his habits of getting up early, he couldn't have gotten much sleep.

"Or maybe I can call you a taxi? Get you home? You know - to your girlfriend and your bed?"

Shinichi just huffed. "Who are you? My mother? Oh, no, wait - my mother is jet-setting around the world with my father, and my girlfriend is out of town, dragged along to some wellness temple by Sonoko this morning. So, no - I don't need to go home, thank you very much."

Ouch.

Snappy, indeed.

"Oookay - you plan on staying till closing-time again? Because then I would get you a thermos, so you can help yourself."

Dragging a hand down his face, Shinichi closed his eyes and prayed for patience. He knew that Kaito just tried to look out for him, he just...

"Yes, please - that would be great."

"Tough case?"

"You could say that," Shinichi answered and gave him a look, Kaito couldn't really interpret.

ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi was on his way to the station to catch the next connection home. He had been the last customer and Kaito had sent him sidelong glances all the time. His friend had even offered to walk with him to the station, but Shinichi had waved him off, saying that it would be a detour for Kaito, who had to take a different train.

Instead, Shinichi had secretly followed Kaito until he was home, what was difficult to say the least, because Kaito was almost as observant as Shinichi himself. That he hadn't been spotted was mostly due to that stupid game, Kaito liked to play on his phone when he took the train.

Actually, it was the third night Shinichi did this. Ever since it had become clear that the culprit in his current case was targeting a certain type of victim, Shinichi had been worried about Kaito.

He fit the profile almost perfectly. He was in his early twenties, short dark hair, blue eyes, attractive, lived by himself, and he went home alone late when he was on the night-shift.

That was the other reason why Shinichi was at the café during Kaito's shifts - to look out for any suspicious persons. Even though the chances that Kaito actually was in the culprit's sights were low, because there where tons of young guys that looked similar, Shinichi just couldn't shake the bad feeling that had settled in his stomach, and so he went to university early to get his assignments in, stayed late at the Police Department, and then went to the café until Kaito left to see him home; all the time working on the case to get the culprit behind bars before he could strike again.

Because if he did, it would mean another young man assaulted, hurt and in the worst case raped and murdered.

Shinichi shuddered when he thought of the pictures in the file that was stowed away in his bag. The mental image of Kaito in the victim's place was what drove him to solve this case as quick as possible, even if that meant he had to work overtime and through most of the nights.

That Ran was away with Sonoko was working in his favor, because she would have noticed his lack of sleep, and if she put her foot down, not even Shinichi stood a chance. She would have insisted to delegate some of his workload to other officers, and he couldn't have that. He just didn't trust others when it came to his friends and family. Being targeted by a criminal organization with moles in official positions did that to you.

So, he would keep it up until that bastard was arrested and locked away, come hell or high water.

ooOO-OOoo

Another late shift for Kaito, and another night during which Shinchi was sitting in his corner. Though - brooding would probably be a better word.

Yesterday, Kaito had already noticed the dark circles under Shinichi's eyes and today, they were even more prominent, as his face seemed to have an unhealthy pallor, like bruises painted on too-white skin. The red rimming didn't help either and Kaito absolutely disliked seeing his friend in such poor condition.

Whatever this case was about, it couldn't be worth Shinichi's health, and weren't there more people working on it if it was that urgent? Surely, he didn't have to do everything by himself, right?

Resolve made, Kaito strode over to Shinichi and placed both his hands on the table.

"You look like you could use a week's worth of sleep, beautiful."

When Shinichi's gaze met his, Kaito was taken aback by the determination in it, even overwriting the fatigue that lingered behind it. Instead of the usual scowl and blush, Shinichi just stared him down as if he had to hold himself back not to snap at him.

Never had Shinichi's foul mood been directed at Kaito in this way, and he desperately hoped that the case would be solved soon, because he could see how the frustration was eating at his friend. Lack of sleep made him scary, and while Kaito could deal with snarky, sarcastic Shinichi, scary Shinichi was someone he wouldn't like to cross, so he left the table without another word and went back to the counter deep in thought.

He would call for help from another side tomorrow morning. Maybe Haibara would know what to do, shoot him with a tranquilizer or whatever, so that he would sleep a few hours at least. On second thought, Kaito could just drop one of his sleep-gas bombs in Shinichi's house and get the job done himself. Then he would make sure that Megure knew that Shinichi wasn't available for the day and deal with the fall-out later, when the detective realized what Kaito had done. But that was future-Kaito's problem - present-Kaito was quite pleased with his plan.

He would have to leave a bit early to get home to grab his equipment, and then head over to Beika in time.

"Hey, Shinji - mind to lock up for me today? Something came up."

His co-worker gave him a thumbs-up and Kaito ran for the staff room to change clothes.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one!"

ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi reached for his cup and grimaced at the cold puddle at its bottom, looking up to ask Kaito for a new one - only to realize that Kaito wasn't there anymore.

He fought down the panic that immediately started to claw its way up his throat and went to the counter.

"Excuse me? Is Kuroba on break?"

The boy, at bit younger than Shinichi, shook his head.

"He went home early today; he didn't tell you?"

_'No, you moron, obviously not, or I wouldn't have to ask you in the first place,' _Shinichi wanted to shout, but pressed his lips together. Instead he hurried back to his table, shoved all his stuff in his bag without caring if the folder crinkled or the laptop was shut down, and was out of the door. He was a regular - he could worry about the bill later.

Running down the street, he cursed himself. How could he have missed that Kaito had left? Why hadn't his friend said anything? Admittedly, Shinichi had brushed him off earlier, but normally, Kaito wasn't so easily deterred. He tried to reach Kaito's phone but only got the mailbox.

"Dammit, Kuroba!"

Of all the times to run from Shinichi, it had to be when a serial killer was on the loose who had it out for young men just like Kaito. Great - absolutely flipping fantastic.

He followed the route Kaito took home, hoping to catch up with him, though he knew that was unlikely. So, he just prayed that he would find him at his home safe and sound, and that his worry was for naught.

When he barely made it into the train that was about to leave the station, Shinichi bent over to catch his breath, fighting back some bright dots swimming through his vision. This time of night, there weren't many people headed in Kaito's direction and most of the seats were empty.

Grateful, Shinichi plunked himself down onto the nearest one and took the chance of a short rest before he had to get off the train four stations later.

From here on he would have to walk, and suddenly he dreaded the distance to Kaito's house when he got up too fast and the world tilted, so he had to catch himself on the next backrest.

"Not now," he growled under his breath and blinked a few times. "Get your act together, Kudou." After a few deep inhales, he straightened up and rushed out of the doors before they could close again.

He sprinted down the sidewalk as fast as he could, not caring about how wobbly his knees felt or how each step pounded in his head. Maybe he was insane to go to these lengths even though there was no evidence that Kaito was in danger, but better safe than sorry. Kaito was a trouble magnet, just like Shinichi himself. It would just figure for him to end up as the culprit's next target, and Shinichi would Not. Let. That. Happen. If that meant he had to fight sleep-deprivation and risk end up collapsing in an empty street in Ekoda - fine.

Just a few corners before Kaito's house came in sight, he had to stop, hands on his knees and panting hard. Sweat was running down his face and he felt feverish. As soon as he had made sure that Kaito was okay, he would allow himself the luxury of a taxi and fall straight into his bed. Skipping the morning courses at the university tomorrow sounded good as well.

A hand dropped down on his shoulder, and he almost choked on his own spit as he whirled around in surprise, just to bump into the other person, staggering a bit.

"Whoa there, careful," the stranger said with a smile in his voice.

"'m sorry," Shinichi apologized, noticing with a grimace how slurred it came out. His head felt fuzzy, but he straightened up somewhat to step away from the man and give him a once-over.

Early thirties, thewed, shaved face, black, longish hair, leering grin – Shinichi felt revolted instantly and took another step back, only for the man to reach out for him again.

"Hey – you don't look so well. You're lucky – I will take good care of you."

Everything in Shinichi screamed _Danger! Danger! _and his neck grew hot, hairs on end.

"No, thanks – I'm about to meet a friend." He looked around, but there were no other people on the street.

The man followed his backward steps. "Don't be like that – this can go two ways for you. You can enjoy it, or you can struggle – I don't care either way," he smirked at him and grabbed for Shinichi's arm, who pulled away, horrified.

He was in seriously deep shit now, and adrenaline was coursing through him, accelerating his heart beat and breathing. Was this really happening? Was this the man he was searching for, so he couldn't hurt Kaito?

Too late he realized that in following Kaito's patterns, he had become a target himself.

"I don't think so," he spat and threw a punch right into the man's liver, just like Ran had taught him. No way would he go down without a fight.

Too bad that adrenalin not only heightened his senses, but also messed up his motor-skills. Add that to his drained state and you got a strike that was much too weak to do any real damage.

The man promptly answered with an uppercut to the chin that threw Shinichi into the next wall, banging his head against the hard bricks. Stars exploded behind his screwed shut eyelids, and he felt himself sag down to the pavement when his legs folded under him. He expected a follow up attack, but when none came, he squinted up and saw the man sneering at him, waiting if he would get up again.

Cursing, Shinichi pushed his muscles to work, ignoring the warm feeling of blood running down his neck and the rusty taste in his mouth where he had bitten his tongue. His jaw throbbed painfully when he carefully worked it while he struggled to his feet with the support of the wall, shooting his assaulter a dark glare from underneath his bangs.

The man watched him with an amused snort. "Stubborn. I like that."

Shinichi somehow managed to dodge the next hook and spun around to land a hit with his elbow in the man's kidneys, but he was too slow, his center of balance off, and his arm was caught and twisted.

He cried out when pain knifed up to his shoulder, forced him to his knees. Warm breath fanned against his cheek and he tried to turn his head away, disgusted, what only earned him another yank on his arm. He didn't want to give that bastard any form of satisfaction but couldn't help the yell that slipped out through his gritted teeth. He could feel himself losing his last strength as the adrenalin was burnt out, leaving him spent and woozy.

"You're a pretty one - exactly my type. We will have lots of fun," the man whispered in his ear, making him shudder, helpless and terrified.

Then there was a thump, smoke, a groan and a weight pressed Shinichi to the ground, air wheezing out of his lungs. Befuddled and gasping, he realized that it was the man's body that was now lying over him, motionless. The smoke was whirling around him, and he inhaled quite a bit of the stuff, faintly recognizing the smell of it, before reality faded away.

"Kudou!" was the last he heard before he was out.

ooOO-OOoo

Kaito hasted down the street from his house to the train station. If he hurried, he would make it in time for the next direct connection to Beika.

Sleep-gas bomb safely secured in his zipped-up jacket pocket, he avoided to second-guess his plan. Yes – Shinichi would be angry with him, but it was a small price to pay if he therefore could prevent his friend from crashing.

Another corner and he came to a dead stop at the scene in front of him. A man was holding a slightly smaller figure down in an unforgiving armlock.

They were turned away from him, but he gasped when he heard a stifled yell and instantly recognized the voice. What was he doing here?

But Kaito shoved this question aside as his blood began to boil and hot anger raced through his veins. He didn't lose a second and ripped-open the pocket with the sleep-gas bomb, throwing it at the fray, though he could see that there wasn't much fight left in Shinichi, and his worry spiked.

The sleep-gas worked fast, and the man slumped, burying Shinichi under him, who let out some weak coughs, before he lay still as well.

"Kudou!"

He was at his friend's side with a few long strides and heaved his assaulter off of him, allowing Shinichi to breath easier. Kaito checked his pulse and injuries, a bit concerned about the bloodied spot at the back of his head. He couldn't see any more wounds aside from a trail of blood that leaked down his chin, and Kaito hoped that he had only bitten himself and hadn't suffered internal damage.

After he was fairly sure that he wasn't fatally wounded, he took off his own jacket, folded it and shoved it under Shinichi's head as a padding. Then he called for the police and an ambulance, and turned his attention to the man behind him, tying him up with some rope he had on him for impromptu tricks.

Next to him, he saw Shinichi's bag and reached for it. It had sprung open on impact and papers and photos had spilled out of a folder. Reports and gruesome pictures stared back at him, as he began to collect them. He couldn't avoid reading a few words and paused.

He recognized himself in the victim's description, and quite a few things clicked into place.

Why Shinichi frequented the café so often lately.

Why he was working himself to the bone, and why he was in this area of the city late at night.

He swallowed thickly, staring at his unconscious friend.

He had tried to protect him.

And as it seemed at the cost of his own safety. Kaito was sure that any other day and well-rested, Shinichi wouldn't have had a problem to defend himself, but wrung out as he was, he hadn't stood a chance.

He clenched his hands into fists, had to stop himself from letting his fury overwhelm him, or he would have done things to the man who had hurt Shinichi, he wouldn't have been able to justify later.

With relief, he heard the nearing sirens and instead of beating an unconscious man into a pulp, he sat down next to his friend and took his hand, giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Stupid detective. At least now you will get some rest."

* * *

**A/N: **

Hello, dear readers,

we are coming to a close for May, and I have to write one last story for next friday. So, I thought I'd give you the opportunity to send me prompts. Hit me with your requests until Sunday 26th, please, including prompt and with which character Shinichi has to go through whatever ordeal you come up with. I will pick the one that inspires me the most.


	9. Hit the road

**Hit the road  
**Not noticing an injury  
Shinichi and Heiji  
ooO-Ooo

"Jeez, Hattori - don't tell me you actually like this song," Shinichi groaned when his friend turned up the volume of the radio, and an annoying pop song blared out of the speakers.

"Bite me, Kudou, it's catchy as hell."

Shinichi chuckled and searched for an opening to ease them into the heavy traffic on the highway to Nagano, where they would meet with Inspector Yamato Kansuke for a case. The drive would take a few hours, but the two young men had preferred the car over the train for the advantage of flexibility.

"Remind me again why they're sendin' us over there? Didn't ya tell me that Yamato-keiji is quite capable?" Heiji asked while he rummaged through his bag in search of some snacks.

"Because it's related to a case I worked last month and they hope that I can be of help," Shinichi explained. "And you are tagging along because you're trying to avoid Kazuha's wrath, although you pretend it is for 'bonding-matters'." He flashed Heiji a shit-eating grin.

"Come on! How was I supposed ta know that Kazuha hadn't told Ran-chan about tha pregnancy yet? And anyway – she didn't have ta be _that_ mad about it."

Now, Shinichi outright laughed. "And they say _I_ am dense."

"Yea sure, rub it in, why don't ya," Heiji grumbled, and took a huge bite out of the chocolate bar he had unwrapped.

"Please, keep in mind that this is a rental car – any chocolate stains on your seat are your own responsibility. I will not pay for any extra cleanings."

Heiji raised an eye-brow. "How do ya of all people get ta have a dad-mode? Is that a remnant of dealin' with tha detective boys? And I'm not a messy eater, thank ya very much."

Rolling his eyes, Shinichi opted to ignore Heiji for now, instead concentrated while he pulled onto the fast lane. Hopefully, the traffic would thin out soon - they had decided to drive through the night for a reason after all. Why were there so many people on the road? Had none of them ever heard of the importance of proper sleep?

"I think you'll get a lot of experience with the 'dad-mode' as soon as the baby is there." It was interesting to see how his friend had changed over the last few years. University, working with the PD, and his relationship with Kazuha had mellowed some of his edges, though he still was the same goofy, quick-witted idiot he'd always been – just with more of a sense of self-preservation.

"Are you nervous about it? You know… being a dad?"

"Terrified," Heiji shuddered. "Are they really goin' ta let us take tha baby home from tha hospital, just like that? I mean – ya have ta get a license for anyhtin' and everythin', but a baby doesn't even come with a manual. Who says we are goin'g ta be good parents? What if I screw up? Drop it or whatever?"

Shinichi smiled. "I guess just the fact that you're thinking about this stuff is worth a lot. You'll be doing great."

"Hmm… hope ya're right." And after a moment. "What about ya guys?"

"Not until Ran finishes her medical education, and I'm sure she'll want to work in her field for a while before taking a few years off, so, no rush."

"Yeah, well, did ya know- Whoa-!"

Heiji's shout was cut off by the crashing sound from metal against metal, and the whole car was violently shoved to the side as the truck next to them pulled onto their lane without noticing them.

"Fuck!" Shinichi floored the gas pedal to accelerate them out of the gap between truck and guardrail that became narrower by the second, sparks already flying where their car was scratching against the rail, the screeching sound ringing in their ears.

They barely made it, but the nose of the truck caught their tail and sent them spinning, pinballing between the barriers, before the car was completely off-balance and rolled over a few times, then came to a stop on its side.

ooOO-OOoo

The world came back to Shinichi in stages. First, there was only static in his ears, before he became aware of his harsh breathing that didn't seem to get enough air into his lungs, leaving him light-headed. Then, the black obscuring his vision transitioned over grey to blinding light that made him squint while he tried to get all the blurry outlines into focus. Lastly, he noticed that his body was tilted in an awkward angle, like hanging sideways? He couldn't get his thoughts into enough order to figure out why, though.

With a groan, he lifted his head a bit, still blinking to clear his eyes.

After a few seconds, he realized that what blinded him was an artificial light whose rays were catching on splintered glass above him, making the edges glow, the nightly sky as a backdrop.

Noise from outside was now registering, and the volume was deafening.

Voices shouting.

Honking horns.

Suddenly, adrenaline spiked through him as he remembered what had happened, and he frantically looked around to assess the situation, search for his friend. While Shinichi was hanging in his seat belt, Heiji lay on the passenger door. He was unconscious and under him, concrete was visible through the cracked, red tinted window.

Car crash.

Blood.

"Hattori?" Shinichi asked with a rough and small voice. When he didn't get an answer, panic rose inside him, but he forced it down with some difficulty, swallowing thicky. Something warm was running down the right side of his face, and he reached up to swipe it away before it could get into his eye. His hand came away smeared with red.

Okay – so he had a head wound as well, and now that he thought about it, his head hurt quite a bit, but aside from that he felt surprisingly fine. A few aches in his arms and legs, but after moving them carefully one by one, he was almost sure that nothing was broken.

The concerned face of a man with a basecap appeared at the burst window above him. "Hey – you okay in there?"

Shinichi just blankly stared at him for a moment. He wasn't serious, was he?

The man must have noticed the stupidity of his question himself, as he licked his lips nervously. "Right, well – the ambulance should be here any minute. So – hang on?"

What the-

"What the hell, man?" echoed a second male voice outside of Shinichi's field of view, and the man was pulled away. "Step aside, you've done enough damage falling asleep while driving!"

Oh, so that was the driver of the truck then? He didn't get a chance to follow that thought, as a new face peered in.

"Hey, my name is Iwasaki, I'm a doctor. Can you tell me your names?"

A direct, easy question. Shinichi's brain was still working slowly, but that much he could manage.

"Kudou Shinichi, and my friend is Hattori Heiji."

If Iwasaki recognized the names, he didn't show it, instead he tried to look around Shinichi to get a better view at Hattori. "Has he woken yet?"

"I- I don't know – not since I came to just now."

"Can you check his breathing?"

Nodding, Shinichi leaned over as far as possible, still not able to reach him, held back by his seat belt, but he could see Heiji's chest rising and falling faintly. No deep breaths by any means, but at least he _was_ breathing at all.

He gulped around a lump in his throat, closing his eyes. _'It will be okay, he's alive, we'll both get out of this.'_

He turned back to Iwasaki. "I think he's breathing okay – could- could be better though."

"Okay – I will try to open the door." He slipped out of his jacket and gave it to Shinichi. "Use that to cover you two – splinters or shards could rain down."

Shinichi took the jacket and spread it over Heiji and himself. Then he felt the car rock when Iwasaki yanked at the door. After a few tries, he gave up. "It must be dented too much, we have to wait for the fire-fighters to cut you out, I'm afraid. How are you feeling, Kudou-san? Does anything hurt aside from your head?" he asked, eyeing Shinichi's wound.

"Not really? A bit dizzy, some bruises and cuts on my arms and legs, but I think I'm fine. Please – Hattori – his wife is pregnant. Focus on him!"

At the thought of Kazuha and the baby, Shinichi's stomach turned. Heiji had to make it - he _had_ to!

Iwasaki smiled reassuringly at him. "We will take care of both of you, alright? I can hear the sirens of the ambulance already; the fire-fighters shouldn't be far behind."

"Okay," Shinichi tried to take deep breaths to calm down. "Okay."

A few minutes later, he was holding the jacket over their heads again, while two fire-fighters were forcing the door open with a hydraulic cutter. They then had to cut him out of his seat belt to lift him out of the car. As soon as he was out, he turned back, refusing to let them take him to the waiting ambulance, the sirens of a second one already audible in a small distance and the lights flashing through the night.

"Hattori! He goes first, please - I can wait. I'm fine."

He didn't even notice that Iwasaki was standing next to him, observing him with a watchful eye. Shinichi's focus was completely on his friend, who was now being pulled out and placed on a stretcher. He was still unconscious and Shinichi balled his hands into fists, so hard that he almost drew blood.

He stared at the doors that closed behind the stretcher, and the ambulance with Heiji in it rushed off.

When finally the second ambulance arrived, Shinichi got in and they followed the first one to the hospital.

ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi sat on a chair next to Heiji's bed and anxiously waited for his friend to wake up. He had refused to leave him to let them run a complete check up on him. He wasn't in pain - not really. They had stitched-up and bandaged his head and some of the larger cuts, the rest had been cleaned and treated with band-aids. Only his head was still throbbing and the fuzzy feeling wouldn't leave, but it was nothing compared to Heiji, who looked so lifeless on the bed.

Why did this have to happen?

Shinichi lowered his head into his hands and exhaled heavily, when suddenly the door to the room flew open and he almost fell out of the chair with a surprised gasp.

"Heiji!"

Kazuha.

Oh God, she would hate him now - he drove the car, he should have reacted faster, better-

"Kudou-kun?"

He blinked, realized that he had panicked and spaced out for a bit. Now, Kazuha was already standing at Heiji's bed, holding his hand, and gave him a quizzical look.

"Are ya okay? Ya look awful. Shouldn't ya be in bed too?"

She was - concerned? Shinichi's mouth was dry, and he had to swallow a few times before he could answer her.

"Fine. I'm fine, I'm so sorry," he then began to babble, as everything finally caught up to him, overwhelmed him. Now, he was out of the chair, standing at the end of the bed with his hands clenched around the railing. He was shivering, and cold sweat broke out all over his skin.

"If I had realized it sooner, or hit the brakes instead of accelerating, maybe-"

"Stop, Kudou-kun, stop," she held up her unoccupied hand. "Tha police told me what happened, and ya did nothing wrong. If ya had braked, who knows - it could have been even worse, maybe caused a multiple crash. Like this, it was mostly dented metal aside from ya two. Of course it's awful that ya both got hurt, and I'm worried about Heiji, but tha doctor already told me that he will be okay, that his injuries aren't that bad. He suffered a concussion and a fractured skull, some bruising and a cracked wrist - but he will be okay." Her voice sounded a bit hoarse at the end.

Shinichi stared at her green eyes that shone with tears, but at the same time with absolute certainty, and what she had said slowly sank in.

Heiji would recover - it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Fractured skull sounded horrible, but was absolutely treatable. He would be okay.

Relief washed away the last traces of adrenalin and left him utterly spent. His vision blurred, and he had to tighten his grip on the bed when a wave of vertigo hit him, nausea welling up.

"Kudou-kun? Ya sure ya're alright? Ya're as pale as a ghost."

Kazuha's voice seemed to come from a distance through the buzzing in his head.

"I - I don't feel so good," he admitted feebly.

He was out before he even hit the floor.

ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi's eyes fluttered open, but everything was hazy, and the sounds around him were muffled. Not that there was much sound aside from some beeping and the rustling of bedsheets.

With a soft moan, he turned his head to the source of the rustling, because he hadn't to look to know that the beeping was caused by a heart-rate monitor.

"Hey - there ya are," sounded a familiar voice from the bed next to him. Heiji's smiling face came into focus were just had been a blurry blob a moment before.

He was propped up against his pillows and looked pallid and tired, but he was awake and aware and...

Why was he himself lying in a bed? He had been fine, hadn't he? Shinichi frowned as he tried to make sense of the situation, and get his brain to work properly.

"Don't force yarself, buddy, ya just woke after surgary. It's normal that ya're confused - they gave ya some good stuff, I'm sure. Take it easy, I'll fill ya in."

Surgary? For what? He carefully patted himself down with his left hand, the right one not really usable with an IV in it, and indeed, there were heavy bandages wrapped around his abdomen.

"Yar liver was ruptured from tha pressure of tha seat belt, and ya were bleedin' internally tha hole time. Not that much, but enough for ya ta conk out after a while. They guess ya didn't feel tha pain because of tha shock of tha accident and tha adrenaline that was flooding ya."

"Oh."

"Yes - 'Oh' is right. They told me ya didn't let them treat ya properly, ya Aho! What was that all about?"

"You have to ask? Isn't it obvious? You're going to be a dad - you can't- you are-"

"If ya're goin' ta say that my life is more important than yours, I promise I will sic Ran-chan on ya," Heiji interrupted him. "Who, by tha way, is in tha cafeteria with Kazuha. She's worried sick - did ya even think about that? About her?"

Shinichi averted his gaze. Of course, he had thought about Ran, he just hadn't seen the need to undergo all that fuss when he was feeling fine. Looking after Heiji had been more important.

Heiji sighed next to him.

"Okay - listen. Next time ya get hurt, ya let tha doctors do all their fancy little test before ya try ta take care of others, because let's face it - there _will_ be a next time - and in turn, I will help ya ta placate yar girlfriend. Deal?"

Shinichi looked at his friend with a smirk, glad that they both could banter like this again.

"Deal."


	10. From one moment to the next

Prompt from BlueBeaniefrog: Shot Shinichi

Thanks a lot, and I hope you'll enjoy what I came up with.

This one is set before the actual series. Just imagine that Shinichi unknowingly foiled some of the BO's plans and they want him dealt with before he becomes an actual problem.

* * *

**From one moment to the next**

Gunshot wound

Shinichi and Ran  
ooOO-OOoo

He had no idea why his client was so hell-bent on getting rid of a teen, but he didn't care in particular either. He got hired, got the job done, got paid – there wasn't more to it. Of course, he had heard about the young prodigy who helped out the police on more than one occasion, had read the front-page splashes that sang his praises, but to go that far as to place a hit on the guy?

Seemed like he had drawn the attention of the wrong people – and they wanted him out of the picture before he could become a real nuisance for them. Any traces leading to them would disappear, or a different group would take the fall, most likely one that was indebted to them.

He shrugged and made sure he was in the optimal position. Direct line of shot, far away enough not to get spotted easily, short distance to his get-away car. Perfect.

Now, all he had to was to wait for his assigned target.

ooOO-OOoo

"Shinichi, hurry up! You know I have to go home right away. Tou-san expects clients and I have to buy fresh tea because we ran out of it yesterday, and meat is on sale, and you promised to help me, and-"

"Ran, calm down, would you?" Shinichi laughed and slung his schoolbag over his shoulder in a casual manner. "I did promise you to help with the groceries and we will be in time to buy as much meat as you want. Why are you so anxious today?"

Ran puffed out a heavy breath and fell into step with Shinichi, heading for the school gates.

"It has been weeks since Tou-san had a good-paying case, and I just want everything to be perfect."

Shinichi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. He knew that the Mouris were always short on money, but this sounded worse than usual. He also didn't know how to encourage her without sounding like a snob, as he never had to worry about these things. Though his parents were out of the country, they made sure that he had more than enough to cover for all his expenses and then some.

What made it even more complicated was Kogoro's lacking talent and professionalism as a private detective, coupled with an insane amount of pride. Shinichi often made fun of him (and therefor had to evade Ran's wrath that came in kicks and punches), but he would have offered his help had he not known that Kogoro would be absolutely against it.

He hated that Ran had to deal with the resulting financial problems all the time. Maybe he could buy some meat for himself and then give it to her under the pretense of having too much? Better give it to Ran before it went to waste?

He was hopeless enough with managing most household tasks to get away with it. He didn't live in dirt or anything, but he didn't cook three-course menus either. He was fine with some basics and eating out every now and then.

"You know what? I think, I can use some meat as well, make some decent dish for a change," he said.

Ran rose an eyebrow and snorted. "Try not to burn down your kit-ah!"

She stumbled over her, how she now noticed, open shoelace, but felt a secure grip on her upper arm, steadying her. The close proximity to Shinichi, who's side was now pressed against her made her blush. She knew that now he would tease her for being ungraceful or whatever, but instead of a smug remark, he gasped and staggered against her heavily.

"Hey, not enough stamina for a small rescue, detective?" she joked, but Shinichi remained silent. Actually, his grip on her arm had tightened to an almost painful level. Slightly concerned, Ran brought a bit distance between them to be able to look at him properly and was shocked how pale his face had become so sudden.

"Shinichi?"

When he looked up at her, his eyes were wide, with dilated pupils. "Something… hit me," he panted out.

"Hit you!?" Now, Ran was alarmed and looked around them to see if anyone had punched or shoved Shinichi, but they stood a bit apart from any other students filing out of the building. "Where?"

His grip went slack and suddenly she had to support his full weight as he sagged to the ground.

"Shinichi!" Her voice went up an octave in panic. Despite her strength as a karate pro, they more fell than went down in any controlled manner, and she needed a moment to struggle out from beneath him and then lie him on the concrete to check what was wrong.

She didn't have to search for long, because the rapidly spreading red stain on the left side of his chest was hard to miss against the stark white of his shirt.

"Oh God," she gasped behind her hands that she had clasped over her mouth. Was that – was that a gunshot wound? Had Shinichi been shot!?

Fear let her heart beat faster and her eyes flickered from the street, to the buildings, to the cars, but she couldn't find any sign of the shooter. Was he gone? Would there be more bullets? What was she supposed to do now?

"Ambulance," she mumbled to herself, because getting Shinichi help was most important right now. Other students had gathered around them by now, and next to her stood a girl from their class. "Hitomi-chan, call for an ambulance! Hurry!"

Hitomi nodded, visibly shaken, but fumbled to get her phone out.

Waving over two boys she knew, they carried Shinichi back through the gate and behind the wall. He bit his lips, his face white, but he endured it somehow. Ran courtly instructed the boys to get the other students of the street, then her attention was back to Shinichi.

What now? Ran knew a bit of first aid but hadn't really needed to use any of it. Her mind was blank.

"Pr-pressure," Shinichi grit out, his voice strained, his own hands too shaky and weak to even reach for the hole the bullet had ripped through the fabric to tear into him. His breathing was rapid and shallow.

"Yeah, right – pressure. I need something to- ah!" Ran shrugged out of her school-blazer and folded it into a bundle. Hovering over the wound, she hesitated because she was sure this would hurt like worlds ending. She swallowed, briefly closed her eyes and then firmly pressed the bundle on the wound with both hands.

"HaaAArh!"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Tears stung in her eyes at his heart wrenching scream, but even worse were the wet, rattling coughs that cut him off, and the red liquid that sprayed out with them, welled out of his mouth and ran down his chin and throat.

_'Oh God, oh God, oh God!'_

Then she noticed that that wasn't the only blood he was losing. From under his back there was a puddle forming that slowly grew bigger.

_'It went through! The shot went right through him!'_

Her head jerked up, and through the curtain of tears that were now falling freely from her eyes, she searched for Hitomi again.

"I need your blazer! We need to stem the bleeding!"

Without asking any question, Hitomi followed Ran's example and with the help of two male students, they managed to place the second bundle under the exit wound, turning Shinichi as carefully as possible, but still, he wheezed and cried out in pain. Now, his own bodyweight put pressure on the wound in his back, while Ran resumed her position at his chest, ignoring any offers to take over for her.

She noticed how he more and more struggled to breathe, his eyes screwed shut.

"Shinichi!" she shouted at him without letting off on the pressure on his ribcage. "Look at me, Shinichi, please!"

His eyes opened a sliver, darting around aimlessly, then settled on Ran for a few seconds before they glazed over and rolled to the back of his head.

"Nonono - please!" Her begging was interrupt by her own hiccups and drowned out by the blearing sound of sirens. But nothing was roaring in her ears as loud as Shinichi's raspy almost-not-there gasps.

Ran wasn't sure how much time passed, but when there were hands on her arms, detaching her from the now blood-soaked blue fabric, she was shaking from exhaustion and adrenalin.

She needed a moment to find back to herself, the paramedic's voices filtering through the buzz that filled her head.

"Tension pneumothorax, I need a needle!"

_'Needle?'_

Ran, who for the time being had just been sat down next to Shinichi, peered through their shoulders and saw Shinichi's face, his lips blue from lack of oxygen. She also could see his bare chest. The paramedic had already wiped away some of the blood, and the wound was covered with something that looked like plastic. Now, he took a big needle from his colleague, felt over Shinichi's ribs and then _shoved it in._

Any remaining blood in her face drained away and her throat constricted, while she saw how the needle went in deeper and deeper.

A rush of air hissed out and a tube replaced the needle, what looked only marginally less horrifying, but Shinichi was _breathing_ again, and Ran felt ready to break down from the relief that flooded her. She knew that he wasn't out of the woods, but his lungs were expanding and collapsing – lifting and lowering his ribcage. He had a chance.

A gurney was rolled next to them and Shinichi was lifted onto it, coming to rest in a slightly upright position.

The next thing Ran knew, was how she blinked at the closing doors of the ambulance. With energy she didn't know she had left after all this, she sprung up, ran to the driver and clenched her fingers at the rolled-down window.

"Which hospital?" was all she got around the lump in her throat.

"Beika central, trauma center," came the short answer and then the ambulance was off.

Ran just stood there for a few calming breaths, trying to get her brain in working order again. A hand touched her shoulder, accompanied by a familiar female voice.

"Ran-san," Satou Miwako said in a warm tone, and Ran finally realized that with the ambulance, also the police had arrived. Made sense when someone got shot. As she turned to the officer, she saw Megure and Takagi speaking with the other students.

"I can take you to the hospital if you want," Satou continued and Ran only nodded, not yet capable of bringing out much. Satou gently guided her through the bystanders, opened the car door for her and during the drive, she slowly brought Ran's mind back to reality with careful questions about the incident.

ooOO-OOoo

How long had she sat here?

When had she washed Shinichi's blood from her hands and changed cloths?

Ran wasn't sure anymore, but her father had been there to bring her some things, and she had slept a bit at one point so she was here for maybe a day? Since the shot, everything had happened in a blur. One moment she was talking with Shinichi about groceries, and now he lay in a hospital bed with a cannula in his nose to assist his breathing, and a hole in his chest with a tube in it, draining it from - stuff.

With a shudder, she averted her gaze from his still form and looked at her arm, were a small bandaid was covering an even smaller puncture site. She had donated blood. It had been the first thing she had asked upon their arrival at the hospital, as she knew that they shared a rare blood type. And thank heavens for that, because with Shinichi's luck, they probably would have run out of blood bags without her donation.

She sighed deeply and let her upperbody sink onto the mattresses, next to his blanked-covered legs, cushioning her head on her arms. The doctors had woken Shinichi a few hours ago to run some tests, but he hadn't really been coherent. After just a few minutes, he had been asleep again without even noticing her.

"That's normal," they had said. "Surgery takes a lot out of one, he will need some time to rest and recover."

ooOO-OOoo

Shinichi's mind was foggy; it was hard to grasp even a single thought. He was almost sure that he had been awake for short periods of time before, but the memories were unclear. Smudged faces above white clothing, hands examining him, an uncomfortable, not-quite painful sensation in his chest. Every time, he had sunk back into the depths of sleep quickly and exhaustion was still clinging to him, even though this time he felt like he could actually comprehend what was going on.

He had been shot, hadn't he?

He remembered the sudden impact in his chest, as if someone had slammed a baseball bat against his ribs. At first, he hadn't even realized that he had been shot, but then there just wasn't enough air, and while he had no idea what was going on, it hadn't stopped his body to react and collapse.

Ran had been next to him, catching him when his legs gave out.

Was she okay?

The thought that she could be hurt as well surged through him, and a whimper must have escaped him, because now there was rustling beside him, a surprised gasp, and fingers he hadn't noticed before tightened around his right hand.

"Shinichi?"

Her voice was raw with emotions, tired from lack of sleep, but full of hope.

'_Ran – she's alright.'_

He felt lighter, knowing that she was at his side, looking out for him. He had precious few friends and even less people to rely on, mostly due to his calculated standoffish behavior. He didn't like to let people near him, but Ran had snuck through his defenses effortlessly and he knew she was here to stay. If he had it his way, she would be more than just a friend soon.

But for now, he still had to open his eyes to ease her worries, so he blinked against the stark light coming from the ceiling and turned his head to her to meet her expectant gaze. A tired smile formed on his lips when he saw how her face lightened up and she pressed her lips together while a few stray tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Hey there," she said, giving his hand another squeeze.

"Hey," he wanted to answer, but it came out as a raspy wheeze that felt scratchy in his throat and resulted in a cough.

"Ow-" His chest felt tight, and though he was sure that he was on some heavy pain medication, it still hurt.

"Maybe you shouldn't talk yet, the doctor's said that your lung was punctured and will need a few days to expand fully again. You will be short on breath until then. Some of your ribs are broken too, so be careful when you move."

Oh right, lung shot. With a queasy feeling, his eyes followed the tube that was coming out from under the covers and disappeared over the edge of his bed. He saw how Ran reached for the call button to let the nurses know that he was awake. That gave him precious moments to think about why he had been shot in the first place.

Of course, he knew that he hadn't only gained friends with his work as a detective, but no one came to mind who would go to such lengths. So, an unknown third party? Racking his brain wouldn't help him any without more details, more information. Also, he still was kind of wiped out, and thinking too hard only gave him a headache. Wether he liked it or not, he would have to wait until he had recovered enough to talk to Megure, but he would get to the bottom of this.

Ran had lowered her head and was watching her hands in her lap, kneading her fingers in a nervous habit before she looked at him again, her eyes shining with tears, he desperately wanted to wipe away.

"I was so scared. There was so much blood, and I didn't know what to do, and you were,... you were..."

_Dying._

Now, it was his turn to reach for her hand. "So sorry," he mouthed, not wanting to risk more coughing for the moment, and she gave him a tender, watery smile.

"I know."

He made a silent promise, to make her smile more often. Truly smile. Because she deserved better than this. Seeing her so distraught made him miserable as well. He couldn't change who he was and what he was passionate about, or the danger that brought it along, but he swore that he would protect her with all he had.

She was so much more than a friend to him, and obviously almost dying was what it took for him to finally make the resolve to tell her. He didn't want to go without giving them a chance, he knew he would regret it even in the afterlife.

Maybe an actual date was in order. Hadn't there been a flyer from an amusement park in the mail yesterday?

Yes, that could be just the right place.

* * *

**A/N: **Maybe you noticed how Ran reacts different to an emergency from the work 'Good staff is hard to find'. That's because in this one she is only sixteen and hasn't seen much of Shinichi's work as a detective.

Also, my pc decided to crash and burn, so I had to type most of the story on my iPad, and the change from German to English keyboard are not always working, so I'm sorry if you stumbled over strange punctuation I failed to correct.

That's it for May, but maybe I will come up with one or two more stories for this one, as I got some interesting prompts I would like to write.


	11. Picking up the pieces

I know - May is over - but there were two prompts I wanted to do and I somehow worked them into one story.

Guest on ffnet.: 'Ran and Shinichi fighting against some dangerous bad guys and need to protect each other but are too hurt to fight the bad guys anymore'

and Shelling4869Ford asked for something psychological. Also, go check out her story 'Lost in time' if you like ShinXRan, hurt/comfort, suspense, drama and feels.

**\- Mind the rating! This one is rated M for torture and its effects, though it's nothing too graphic. -**

* * *

**Picking up the pieces**

Torture/Panic Attack

Shinichi and Agasa  
ooOO-OOoo

A bright flash of light illuminated his room and Shinichi bolted upright in his bed with a gasp, the thunder roaring in his ears. He detangled his legs from his blanket and, still befogged from sleep, stumbled over to the window to close the curtains he had forgotten to draw before he went to bed.

Just when he reached for the fabric, another lightning danced across the sky, but he didn't really see it. His eyes stared out into the dark, beyond the raindrops that chased each other on the pane directly before him. His breath caught in his throat and his stiff arms and legs felt heavy. He was pinned in place by a sudden fear knifing through him, robbing him of any coherent thought.

The next lightning split the nightly sky, and he screamed at the reflection that flashed across the window. His right fist shot forward purely on reflex, punched through the glass, and shattered the face that maliciously grinned back at him, framed by long, silvery hair.

Shinichi cried out more in surprise over the strong gust of wind that hit him than in pain, though blood was dripping from his cut knuckles to the wooden floor of his bedroom, slowly mixing with the raindrops that now had an easy way in.

Dazed, he stared down at the gruesome puddle forming at his feet, nearly reaching his bare toes, not feeling the chill of the autumn night that now filled his room.

Black stains in the darkness, flashing red with every bolt of lightning.

Just as before.

Just as when _they_ had finally caught him – caught _her!_

Your fault! Your fault! Your fault!

Shivers wrecked his whole body, his breathing just uncontrolled pants when his mind flung him back to that night.

He sunk to the floor, numb to the pain the shards of glass inflicted to his knees and shins, digging through the thin material of his pajama pants.

This was nothing compared to what _she_ had to endure, what _they_ did to her. He was useless, couldn't protect her, was restrained to the wall opposite to her with chains, a gag securely lodged in his mouth, muffling his desperate pleas to release her, to take him instead.

He felt every cut like it sliced through his own skin, every blow bruising him just as much as her, and each of her hisses, moans and cries pierced through his heart with enough force to smash it into pieces.

_He_ was doing this to her.

Without him, she wouldn't be here, tortured by criminals she hadn't even known existed.

Your fault!

They wanted to break him, to make him talk.

Returning to his old self for the final takedown had been a fatal mistake. He had risen one red flag too many, and Gin hadn't needed much time to remember him or to find out that Kudou Shinichi and Mouri Ran were dating - that she was the perfect leverage.

When hurting Shinichi had only resulted in stubborn silence, they had brought her in, and his personal hell had become reality.

Every now and then they removed the gag and questioned him, just to replace it when he refused yet again.

How did you survive?

Who is helping you?

Where is Sherry?

"Don't tell them!" Ran - voice hoarse from crying and screaming, but still believing.

Brave, loyal Ran.

Another of her screams was drowned out by cracking thunder.

Tell them! Just tell them what they want to hear, and it will end! Surrender!

He shook his head, bit down on the gag so hard his teeth hurt.

It was a lie and he knew it. They would never stop, never let them go. Every name he gave them would be a death sentence.

His parents, Heiji, Shiho, Agasa. They wouldn't stop there. Police, FBI, CIA, civilian – it didn't matter. Kogoro, Sera, the kids…

Your fault!

You dragged all of them into this!

You should have died back then!

Failure!

His own injuries enhanced his exhaustion and left his mind in a fuzzy state, no matter how hard he tried to stay alert, to find a way to get them both out.

Ran fell slack in her restraints.

Shinichi struggled, screamed, cried, begged, but all that came out were unintelligible, distressed noises, soon laced with new pain when they restored to torture him instead of Ran. He continued anyway, desperate to get to her, to help her.

Everything blurred together in a cloud of agony, despair and self-hatred, obscuring his vision with a milky haze, disconnecting him from what was happening around him and with his own body.

When gentle hands freed him and laid him down on cold concrete, he didn't register it at all. Voices filtered through the buzzing static that filled his ears, but he couldn't place them. Were they here to hurt them even more? He didn't dare hoping for rescue, tried to fend off anyone who wanted to touch him. The gag was loosened, came off, and he could speak again. Despite the pain in his strained jaws, he began to scream again, though his voice was rough, his vocal-chords raw from overuse.

He choked, coughed and started to hyperventilate, couldn't get enough air in his lungs.

"Shinichi – close your eyes. You're having a panic attack."

_'What?'_

"It's going to be okay; they can't hurt you or Ran-kun anymore."

_'Who?'_

"You're safe. You are not there anymore. You are in your room."

He knew that voice. He had heard it since his early childhood. Advising, helping, caring, sometimes chiding.

Using the voice as an anchor, he pulled away from the horrible visions in his head and bit by bit came back to himself. The hard concrete turned into smooth wooden planks, the stench of blood, sweat and fear slowly vanished.

"Ha- Hakase?" he rasped out.

"Breathe, Shinichi, I've got you. Just count with me. In for four, hold for a second, out for four. In, two three four, hold, out two three four…"

Shinichi tried to focus on Agasa's counting to block out everything else - the wind howling through the broken window, carrying rain with it, and the low rumbling that followed after yet another bright flash of lightning. He kept his eyes shut and buried his face into Agasa's shoulder, where the blinding shock of light couldn't reach him, couldn't trigger the memories of that night.

"…out, two, three, four…"

At his first tries, his own hiccupping sobs hindered him from following the instructions to the end, interrupting him with hitched whines that sounded pathetic in his ears. Why couldn't he just get a grip on himself? He was twenty-two, dammit! He shouldn't be afraid of a little storm like this.

And still, here he was, hiding in his neighbor's embrace with the urge to press his hands over his ears to shut out the noises of a completely common thunderstorm.

Even after the Black Organization was gone, they had a firm grip on him. The shadows were still full of eyes that stared at him, followed him. Nights like this threw him straight back into that rundown warehouse were rain leaked down through cracks in the roof, and thunderbolts highlighted the blood running down Ran's face, arms, and legs.

He repeated what he knew in his head.

_'You are in your room. They can't reach you anymore, can't hurt you, can't hurt Ran. She is home as well. She is fully healed. She is okay. You are okay.'_

His whole body shuddered as he let go of part of the tension, breathing becoming easier now, but he gave himself a few more moments to calm down before he opened his eyes and looked around.

He grimaced at the shards on the wet floor underneath the shattered window. The Professor must have closed the curtains, knowing about how Shinichi was affected by storms these days. Because of the strong wind, they didn't do much to block out the weather, and unruly flapped into the room like huge wings.

"Do you think you can get up?" Agasa asked, and Shinichi nodded. With a helping hand, he stood on slightly wobbly legs and let himself be led downstairs into the living room were he flopped down onto the couch while Agasa went to get the first-aid kit.

Watching how the Professor wrapped a bandage around his injured hand, he bowed his head, ashamed. "Sorry that I woke you."

A firm squeeze on his other hand made him look up again, meeting warm eyes behind round glasses.

"There is no need to apologize. Never! You can always count on me, you know that. And if it makes you feel any better about it, I didn't sleep anyway. Storms make me anxious as well, and when I heard your window breaking… well…" he ended with an understanding shrug.

Shinichi exhaled deeply, still frustrated with himself. "Still, I should be able to deal with it on my own. Being afraid of some wind, noise, and light just isn't rational."

"It doesn't work that way, I'm afraid. What you have been through left its marks, and it will take time to heal, but you don't have to go through this alone. I know that first thing in the morning you will go to Ran-kun to check on her, and that you will bury your own fear to be strong for her."

Shinichi averted his gaze again, caught, and Agasa smiled softly.

"There is no need to be ashamed of what scares you. It doesn't make you weak to show her that you are hurting as well. She wouldn't think any less of you. The trauma could have broken you, but you are still standing. You _are_ strong, and Ran-kun too. Working through it together could benefit both of you. Won't you give it a try?"

Shinichi wanted to say _yes, of course_, because he knew what PTSD did to you, knew that he wasn't immune to it, that talking about it would help, but guilt held him back.

Ran had suffered so much because of his bad decisions. What right did he have to wallow in his own pain in front of her? The least he could do was lend her a shoulder that didn't shake and a resolve that wouldn't waver. If that meant that he had to bottle up his own swirling dark emotions, he would do exactly that.

Agasa sighed. He could read Shinichi like an open book right now, and it was obvious that the boy wouldn't follow his advice just yet. Hopefully, Ran would be able to convince him to open up to her. He needed to let go of all those burdens he'd loaded onto himself, to accept that he could reach out for help, and that what had happened wasn't entirely his fault.

Had his actions always been the right ones?

Had he always been considerate of Ran's feelings?

Probably not, but he did his best in a nearly impossible situation, and now he tried to pick up the pieces and somehow put them together to make them resemble his old life – what was a futile struggle, and Shinichi had to accept that at some point.

He had been thrown for a loop the last few years, and he no longer was the cocky, attention-seeking teen, who had basked in his fame and the praises he got. He was quieter than before, jumped at sudden voices or touches, and a somber air clung to him.

Kudou Shinichi needed to find his place, reforge bonds he'd had as Conan, and come to terms with his past.

And if he just would allow them, there were plenty of people who would be more than willing to help him with that.

Agasa for sure would stay at his side for every step of the way – just like he had always done.

* * *

**A/N: **Because Agasa is Shinichi's only constant pillar in the whole mess, and has been so from the very beginning. Were would he be without him and his encouragement or his inventions?


End file.
